Charmed: The Next Generation
by JadeMWong
Summary: This fanfiction takes place 2 decades after the series finale, and it focuses on the children of Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, as they grow and live their lives. New powers, new characters, new demons, same old ancient magic. ON HIATUS.
1. Prologue&Chapter 1: The Next Generation

**Prologue (Feel free to skip/skim. It's mainly here for reference):**

In the city of San Francisco, at the address of 13-29 Prescott St, stands a magnificent red-bricked manor. For centuries, this manor has been the site of countless battles between good and evil, witches and demons. This manor has also been the home of a line of powerful witches whose name is feared by demons everywhere. Two decades ago, a great battle was fought at this house, a battle between the Charmed Ones, three powerful good sister-witches whose existence had been prophesized for hundreds of years and the Ultimate Power, two not-so-good sister-witches who, when combined their powers together, could vanquish demons thought to be invincible. Needless to say, this battle ended with victory on the side of the Charmed Ones, and as a result, the fulfillment of the Charmed Ones' destiny. This manor is the legendary Halliwell Manor.

Since the Ultimate Battle, the three sisters have finally been able to live the normal lives that they always wanted to live, or at least, as normal as they can get. The eldest sister, Piper Halliwell, is the only sister to continue living at the manor. She lives with her husband, Leo Wyatt, now a mortal, and their three children: Wyatt, Chris and Melinda. **Wyatt Matthew Halliwell** is the most powerful witch to ever walk the face of the earth. He possesses a great multitude of powers from both his witch and his Whitelighter side. He was and still remains to this day, a powerful source of good magic. **Christopher Perry Halliwell** is the second son of Piper and Leo. Also a witch/Whitelighter hybrid, Chris too, possesses a wide range of powers, although he's not as strong as his brother. This results in an inferiority rivalry between the two siblings. **Prudence Melinda Halliwell** is the only daughter of Piper and Leo. Being half-witch/half-mortal, Melinda does not possess half as many powers as her brothers do, although she does inherit her mother's ability of molecular immobilization and combustion.

After retiring from the Charmed name, Piper has finally been able to open the restaurant she's always dreamed of owning, naming it Halliwell's after her family. At 56, she's enjoyed two decades of a life full of food and most importantly, normalcy. Although she had originally closed down P3 and sold it to open her restaurant, Wyatt and Chris bought back the deed to the property together and reopened the club, after giving it a complete makeover. As a nod to the legacy of the Charmed Ones and a reminder of their family history, the name of the club was kept as P3. The new and improved P3 is now co-managed by Wyatt and Chris, 26 and 25 respectively, who have put it back on the map as a hot spot for the past three years. Leo, although a mortal, was made headmaster of Magic School, a post he enjoys to this day. Melinda, now 22, has successfully graduated from college with a degree in restaurant management. She currently works at Halliwell's as her mother's business partner.

The second eldest sister, Phoebe Halliwell, lives with her husband Coop, a cupid, and their three daughters: Prudence, Peyton, and Patricia. **Prudence Johnna Halliwell**, named after her late aunt Prudence and great-grandmother (Grams), is the first-born and therefore the strongest out of her and her sisters. From her father, she's inherited the power of Suggestion. This, combined with her power of astral projection allows her not only to be in two places at once physically, but also to infect the minds of her enemies with subliminal thoughts and bend them to her will. She can literally astral project herself into another being's mind and attempt to control their thoughts. She's also inherited the ability of telekinesis, also thanks to her father. Like her late aunt, Prudence prefers to go by "Prue". **Peyton Grace Halliwell** is the middle sister. While she was named after two of her magical ancestors, the name Peyton serves mainly as a 'P' name. Peyton's inherited her mother's ability of premonition which was enhanced by the cupid half of her. As a result, Peyton learns to replay her premonitions from memory into holograms, and as her power develops, eventually learns to create holograms separate from her premonitions. Unlike their father who needs his ring to use Suggestion and to create holograms, Prue and Peyton can both do it naturally. **Patricia Charlotte Halliwell** is the baby of the three. Like Peyton, the name Patricia serves mainly to maintain the 'P' in her name, inspired by her grandmother Patty. Patricia prefers to go by her middle name "Charlotte". Out of her sisters, Charlotte is the one who takes after her father the most. She is the only one to have inherited any form of transportation, in her case, beaming, as well as a cupid's innate ability to sense love and bring couples together. All three girls received personal martial arts lessons from their mother and all three girls are Empaths.

After retiring from the Charmed name, Phoebe has continued to work at The Bay Mirror as an advice columnist, along with publishing a best-selling book, "Finding Love". At age 54, Phoebe's enjoyed a life of success and fame. With two more best-sellers under her belt, "Cupid's Not A Bad Guy" and "The Family Life", as well as various radio shows, talk shows and magazine interviews, Phoebe's become somewhat of a local celebrity. Coop has continued his duties as a Cupid, finding love for countless couples all around the world, yet always making time to come home to his family. Prue, 20, is attending college, studying for an art major and also working part-time at P3 as a waitress. Peyton, 18, is in her senior year of Baker High School again after being held back once. Charlotte, 14, is a freshman at Baker High School, the same high school that Piper attended.

The third and youngest sister, Paige Matthews moved out as well and currently lives with her husband Henry Mitchell and their three children: Mitch, Pandora, and Rosie. **Henry Mitchell Jr.**, named after his father, has inherited his mother's basic witch abilities such as spell-casting and potion-making along with the passive ability of deflection. Perhaps because he is half-mortal, he has no active powers. **Pandora Mitchell** and **Rosie Mitchell** are the Mitchell Twins. Unlike their brother and possibly because they are twins, Pandora and Rosie possess active powers not common of the Halliwell line. However, perhaps because their mother had the ability to conjure the elements in a past life, Pandora and Rosie each possess one type of element manipulating ability. Pandora, the older twin, hardheaded and stubborn, possesses the ability of Geokinesis, giving her control over the earth. Rosie, the younger one, calm, cool, and compliant, possesses the ability of Hydrokinesis, giving her control over water.

Paige is the only sister who has not completely retired from the Charmed legacy. After moving out, Paige decided to fully embrace her Whitelighter side and went on to guide future witches and Whitelighters. Now, at 52, she currently spends her time helping out at Magic School, continuing to pass on her knowledge. After spending a good part of his life looking after his parolees, Henry now helps train potential parolee officers at the San Francisco Police Academy. Mitch, 21, has inherited his father's passion to law enforcement. Instead of becoming a parole officer like his father, Mitch is currently studying to become a police officer and hopes to one day work for the San Francisco Police Department. Pandora and Rosie, both 19, are in their first year of college.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Next Generation**

Sunlight flooded into the kitchen. A young woman sat at the dining table, reading through some documents and verifying the information with her laptop. Occasionally, she stopped and took a sip of the coffee in the cup next to her, then continued to work. Her silky dark brown hair was tied back in a long ponytail and her brown eyes were focused on her work. She was wearing a loose sky-blue top and matching blue and white checkered pajama bottoms. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall: 9:05. At that moment, the front door opened and closed. Melinda looked up from her laptop. _Who could that be?_ The answer came bursting through the kitchen door seconds later in the form of a tall young man in his twenties with dark brown hair, sparkling green eyes, and just visible stubble on his face. He was wearing a black t-shirt underneath his worn leather jacket, jeans, and a big smile on his face.

"Good morning, Mel! Working hard as always, huh?" Chris said happily as he gave his little sister a one-arm hug, much to her surprise. He noticed the almost empty coffee cup and grabbed it. "Here, I'll fill it up for you." Melinda stared as he poured coffee into her cup, humming. He placed the now-full cup back on the table with a smile. "Here you go. Did you eat anything yet? Want me to make you something? Toast? Eggs? Pancakes?"

Melinda continued to stare. She silently stood up and eyed her brother suspiciously. "Are you feeling ok?"

Chris laughed. "What, I can't be happy?"

"Happy? Do you even know how to make pancakes?" Chris laughed again. Melinda put her hands on her hips. "Ok, spill it buddy, what did you do?"

"Nothing, I just spent the night at Bianca's," Chris said innocently.

"Bian-ohhh," Melinda said, finally understanding. "I see…" Melinda sat back down and took a sip of her coffee. "No, I didn't eat anything yet. How about an omelet?"

"Sure," Chris replied and went to the stove, taking out a pan and heating it up. At that moment, the kitchen door opened and in stepped another young man, also in his twenties with tousled dirty-blond hair, fine features that included rich brown eyes, and a fit physique. He was wearing a white t-shirt and dark pajama bottoms.

"Morning," the young man said to the room. He looked around and did a double take at Chris, cracking an egg. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"He's making me breakfast," Melinda said, not looking up from her laptop.

"He's what?" Wyatt replied incredulously.

Chris looked up from the stove. "Hey Wyatt! About time you got up. You want me to make you something too?"

Wyatt stared at his younger brother cracking eggs into the sizzling pan, speechless. Then, he turned around and addressed his little sister in a stern tone. "Prudence Melinda Halliwell, exactly what kind of spell did you cast on him?"

"Dude, I'm fine!" Chris said. "I feel great today. So, how does an omelet sound to you?"

"Melinda…" Wyatt repeated warningly, ignoring Chris.

"Chris spent the night at Bianca's. I think it's safe to say he thoroughly enjoyed his stay," Melinda said, looking up at her brother. "And just so you know, I resent how you automatically assume I did something."

Wyatt looked at Chris, then back at Melinda and laughed. "Sorry Mel," he said, as he approached Chris. "So, how was your night at Bianca's, _Peanut_?"

"Go to Hell, Wyatt!" Chris retorted, as Melinda choked on her coffee.

Wyatt burst into laughter, leaning on the kitchen counter for support. "Oh man, that will never get old."

"I swear, one of these days-"

"You'll find some way to get back at me that results in me actually getting hurt, yes we know," Wyatt interrupted, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

Chris grated his teeth as he placed the finished omelet on a plate. He put it in front of Melinda and then said to Wyatt over his shoulder, "You know that day off you were gonna have today? Well it's canceled. I'm heading out." He stepped out of the kitchen.

"Wait, what? Chris!" Wyatt called out as Chris left the kitchen. "Oh, he's not going to get away with that." Wyatt orbed out as Melinda ate her omelet, shaking her head.

Outside the kitchen, Wyatt reappeared in front of Chris who was heading up the stairs.

"Chris, you have to open P3 today. I have plans!"

"Not my problem," Chris said, walking around Wyatt.

"Alright I'm sorry I made fun of you," Wyatt said, which made Chris stop and turn around. He raised an eyebrow as if waiting for more. "For the record, it _is_ a cute nickname." Chris turned around again and headed back up the stairs. "Ok fine, I'm sorry. I'll try to stop with the Peanut-calling."

Chris turned to face Wyatt again. "I hope one day you get captured and tortured by demons."

Wyatt laughed. "So you can come and be the hero for once?"

"Pompous arrogant bastard," Chris replied.

"Well, as much as I want to stay and keep insulting you, I'm starving and I gotta go meet up with Mitch in an hour," Wyatt answered, smiling as he headed back to the kitchen.

"I hope you pick up demon girls again!" Chris called out.

"Well if they're hot, who am I to complain?" Wyatt replied over his shoulder as Chris laughed in spite of himself. Wyatt turned towards his little brother and grinned. "You hungry? I'll treat you to my signature pancakes, topped with homemade maple syrup courtesy of mom herself."

Chris returned the grin. "Sure."

* * *

_***Author's Note: I did as much initial research as I could when I came up with the powers and names for all the children, but I realize that there are still differences between the characters in my fanfic and the characters in the Charmed comics, i.e. Melinda here not having whitelighter abilities vs Melinda in Charmed Comics having whitelighter abilities. This is the way I chose to go with my fanfic, and I know that I do not own these characters in any way.  
**_

_**Hope you guys enjoyed the first chap! More to come!**_


	2. The Splitting Headache

**Chapter 2: The Splitting Headache**

The music blasted and reverberated off the smooth walls of the packed club. Loud electric guitar solos and deep drum beats meshed with the sharp voice of the lead vocalist, as the crowd cheered and danced. The band that was booked for the night, an up-and-coming punk rock group, had kept the hyped half-intoxicated crowd on their toes since they first got on the stage.

Sitting on a level above the dance floor in the red-velvet-curtained VIP section was Wyatt. Dressed simply in jeans and a shirt just tight enough to hint at a fit physique, Wyatt did not immediately come off as a levelheaded co-owner of a successful nightclub. Then again, neither did his brother, who was currently sprawled on one of the several red plush sofas. Having stripped off his leather jacket and thrown it onto the back of the sofa, Chris was wearing a loose black t-shirt and frayed gray jeans. Wyatt glanced at his brother resting his head on one of the sofa's armrests with his eyes closed, and wondered how the guy could sleep with the racket of the music coming from below.

Just then, two of their cousins, Pandora and Rosie made their way up the stairs and into the VIP section, carrying a drink in each hand. Identical twins, they had inherited their mother Paige's rich auburn locks, hazel eyes, and very fair skin, but it never took anyone long to differentiate the two. Despite being identical, Pandora and Rosie were as different as earth and water.

Walking over to the sofa, Pandora gave the sleeping Chris a hard kick to his shins, making him grunt. He opened an eye at her and then turned over and resumed his sleeping. Pandora gave him another kick. "Quit hogging the sofa or else I'll spill your drink on you."

Chris slowly sat up and swung his legs off the sofa, letting Pandora sit. He grabbed his beer from her and gave her a glare for good measure.

Rolling her eyes at her sister now sticking her tongue out at Chris, Rosie turned to Wyatt. "So, how was your day with Mitch?"

"Did you and our big bad bro pick up demon girls again?" Pandora asked.

"One time! It happened one time!" Wyatt exclaimed. "And no, there were no demon girls today," He took a swig of his drink, feeling the alcohol already starting to numb the headache he had all day.

"Well something happened, or else you wouldn't be chugging that beer like it was water," Chris spoke up from his spot on the sofa, his own beer untouched.

"Nothing. It's not a big deal."

"Dude, when it concerns you, it's a big deal. What happened?"

Wyatt looked down at his beer. He sighed and rubbed his forehead as if he could wipe his headache away. "It's really not a big deal. It's just a headache. I keep hearing stuff."

"Which is it? Is it a headache or are you hearing stuff?"

"I don't know…both?"

They stared at him for a moment. Then Chris asked knowingly, barely able to hide his exasperation, "Are you having a headache because you're hearing stuff _in your head_?"

Wyatt paused and spoke slowly, scrunching his eyes as he felt the faintest prickling of the headache coming back. "It's…It's more like a ringing or something. It happened earlier today after I met up with Mitch and it kept getting worse. It was like someone was taking a hammer and pounding my head. But, it stopped a while ago and it's not as bad now." Wyatt took another drink as the other three frowned, skeptical.

"I don't know…I think this is something to look into," Rosie said, worried. Chris and Pandora nodded in agreement.

"This is why I didn't say anything," Wyatt said, sighing, putting a hand through his wavy blond hair. "It's a migraine. It happens to everyone. If I feel like I'm going to die via headache, I'll let you guys know." Wyatt stood up abruptly and walked away, disappearing into the crowd of people. Pandora and Rosie fixed Chris with stern looks.

"I know I know, he's not gonna tell us anything. I'll keep an eye on him."

In front of the restroom, Wyatt had his hand on the door and was about to enter when a dizzy spell hit him. He leaned against the wall, groaning, one hand rubbing his temples, but just as sudden as it came, it passed. He took a couple of deep breaths, steadying himself, and forcing his beer to stay down.

"Hey Wyatt, you ok?"

Wyatt looked up to see another one of his cousins standing there holding a tray of empty glasses and fixing him with a worried look. "Hey Prue, working hard?"

"What does it look like to you?" She answered, raising an eyebrow, a tiny smile on her lips. "I think it's about time I get a raise." Her sandy brown hair was neatly pulled back into a bun, and her eyes, normally light brown, were splashed with blue thanks to her contacts. She was dressed in the form-fitting club waitress uniform, the cuffs of her white sleeves folded back at her elbows and a smooth black apron tied over her red skirt. Seeing his lack of reaction to her salary comment, she narrowed her eyes again in concern. "Wyatt-"

"Hey, can you do me a favor? Mind letting them know I'm heading home? They're at the sofas," Wyatt interjected, rubbing his temples again.

Prue frowned. "You don't look so good."

"I'm just tired. It's been a long day. Good night," Wyatt said and disappeared into the restroom again. Prue watched as the tiny space between the door and the floor glowed blue for a second, and knew that Wyatt had orbed back to the manor. Turning to the VIP section, she swerved through the rowdy, half-wobbly crowd and dropped off her tray at the bar with the swiftness of someone who had been working as a waitress for far too long.

As she neared, Pandora waved excitedly. "Prue!"

"It's about time you came here and joined us," Rosie said smiling, moving over on the sofa. "Sit."

"I can't, I have to go back to work."

"Oh please! One of your bosses is right here and he doesn't mind, does he Chris?" Pandora nudged her cousin in the elbow.

"Actually, we're a little short on hands tonight…" Chris muttered.

"Unbelievable," Pandora shook her head.

Chris rolled his eyes and snatched Pandora's soda out of her hands. "Here Prue, take this back to the bar. I think it's time an annoying little brat goes home."

"Hey!"

Prue laughed and handed the soda back to Pandora. "I just came here to ask about Wyatt. He said he's tired and heading home. Is something wrong?"

Rosie frowned. "We're not sure. Something weird's been happening to him all day, but he keeps saying it's not a big deal."

"Typical Wyatt, always thinking he's invincible just because _he's_ the most powerful witch in the entire existence of magic!" Chris slammed his now-empty beer on the table, and caused the base of the bottle to crack slightly.

"Yes, yell some more. After all, if you're going to expose us, you might as well do it properly. I don't think the people in New York heard you," Pandora said, tone dripping with sarcasm. Chris was about to retort back when Rosie intervened.

"Guys, calm down. People can hear you."

Prue turned back towards the crowd. "I gotta get back to work. Chris-"

"I know, I know! Keep an eye on Wyatt! Damn it!" Chris stood up and stormed into the crowd.

Rosie sighed. "You just had to go and make things worse, didn't you Pandora?"

"What? It's called a joke! Sarcasm!" Pandora replied, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

* * *

Back at the manor, Wyatt was on his bed, sweating intensely. His covers were all thrown askew. Tossing and turning, he couldn't seem to wake up from the dream he was having.

_He's in some sort of cave. Somewhere underground. A girl's scream can be heard. Suddenly, from a doorway in the wall of the cave, a girl runs through, looking as if she's trying to escape, her dark eyes wide in desperation. Her long black hair is flying behind her. Her forehead is dripping with sweat. Two fireballs fly towards her and she dodges both of them. Two men, no, demons, appear chasing her, throwing more fireballs. She screams again and dodges them. Suddenly, she runs into a dead end. The cave has no way out. She turns around to face her attackers who are slowly approaching. She watches as one of them creates a fireball at the palm of his hand. The other pulls out a small knife. Her eyes are open in fear. The demon throws his fireball at her and aims for her left arm. She screams in pain as the fireball makes contact with her skin and sears it, turning it angry red. She holds up her other arm to protect herself, as the demon holding the knife moves closer. A fireball appears at her palm. She stares at the fireball she's created with surprise and confusion. The demons, also surprised, momentarily stop and stare at her. She looks from the fireball to the demons and suddenly throws it at the demon holding the knife, causing him to erupt into painful flames as he shrieks. The girl is shocked at what she's done. The remaining demon creates another fireball, and the girl copies his movements, eyes wide when a fireball appears at her palm. She dodges the fireball that the demon throws at her and throws her fireball towards the remaining demon, who also erupts into shrieking flames. The girl sinks down onto the floor, her back against the wall, panting and grabbing her injured, bleeding arm._

Wyatt's eyes flew open as he shot up in his bed, panting heavily and dripping with sweat. He grabbed his throbbing head and groaned.

* * *

The next morning, Wyatt made his way down to the kitchen, one hand massaging his forehead, the other holding onto the railing as he descended the stairs one at a time. His blond hair was mussed with sweat and the t-shirt and jeans that he hadn't the strength to change out of last night were rumpled and drenched. The headache continued to come and go the entire night, and the rare times that he was able to drift to sleep were plagued with dreams of fireballs and pain. Groggily, he pushed open the kitchen door and surprised a plump woman, who had been cooking breakfast. Although streaked with gray, her long, straight, waist-length hair still maintained its dark rich brown and silky look. There was a sprinkling of wrinkles on her oval face, but she had the dark brown eyes of someone who had stared down many an adversary. She was wearing a plain blue apron over comfy-looking pajamas.

"Wyatt! You're awake? It's barely 6," Piper exclaimed, putting a tray of muffins into the oven.

"You look terrible, what's wrong?" Leo frowned in concern as he took in Wyatt's ragged appearance. Standing next to Piper with the same tall, broad shoulders and the same dirty-blond hair as his son, although his was streaked with gray, Leo looked like a walking, talking, older version of Wyatt.

Thankful that the pain was somewhat ebbing away now, Wyatt took a seat at the kitchen counter. "Just a headache, dad."

"Honey, in this family, something that may seem like just a headache may not be just a headache." Piper crossed her arms and faced her son with a raised eyebrow. "And do you think we're stupid? That's not what a headache looks like."

"Never mind, I'm fine, I'm heading back to bed," Wyatt started to get up, but Piper forced him back down.

"Wyatt, for God's sake, you are not fine and as your parents we are completely entitled to worry about you whether you like it or not so sit your butt down and tell us what the hell is going on!"

Resigned, Wyatt obeyed. "It started yesterday. I was out with Mitch and the sound just started in my head, a buzzing. Then, it became a drill and it kept pounding and pounding and I thought I heard a girl calling for help too. Then, I started getting dizzy and the girl's voice got louder. She kept calling for help, but I couldn't really hear her properly. And just now, I had a weird dream. I saw this girl running from demons. They were attacking her with fireballs. She got hurt and her arm was bleeding." Wyatt laid his head on the kitchen counter. "Ughhh, just chop my head off already and give me a new one."

There was a brief silence until Leo spoke.

"Wyatt, I want you to close your eyes. I want you to look past your headache and focus on the girl in your dream. See her in your mind. Remember her call for help."

Too exhausted to complain, and too close to being delirious to question it, Wyatt took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He brought the image of the black-haired girl into his mind and focused on her. He stared into her eyes, full of terror and distress. The pounding stopped and his headache faded away. Finally feeling a sense of clarity, he continued to stare at the girl in his mind, memorizing every angle of her face. Suddenly, he could see the cave in his dream again. No, wait, it was a different cave. There was a small pond in this cave. He could see the girl, her long black hair falling limply down her back. She was soaking her bleeding arm into the pond. She winced at the pain as her blood began dyeing the water crimson. Wyatt gasped and opened his eyes. The kitchen and his parents came back in a swirling rush of reality.

"The girl, she's real! She's hurt!" Wyatt exclaimed in alarm.

"Go to her and bring her back here," Leo said. Wyatt orbed out, disappearing in a shower of blue-white lights.

* * *

Wyatt reappeared in the same cave he saw the girl, immediately recognizing that he was in the Underworld. He spotted the girl next to the pool, not too far away, and ran to her. "Hey, are you ok?"

The girl jumped up and turned to face him, alarmed. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Calm down, I'm here to help you. You're hurt. I can take you back to get your wound treated," Wyatt said urgently.

"Back? Back where? Who are you?" the girl demanded, holding her injured right arm.

"My name is Wyatt. I'm not here to hurt you, but we have to hurry. This is a dangerous place," Wyatt held out his hand. "Take my hand. I can take you away from here."

"How do I know I can trust you?" the girl demanded again, eyeing Wyatt with a mixture of suspicion and fear. Before Wyatt could answer, a demon faded in behind the girl, throwing a fireball at them. Wyatt grabbed the girl and pushed her out of the way. She screamed in pain as they landed on her injured arm. Wyatt used his telekinesis and slammed the demon into the opposite cave wall. He then orbed out with the girl.

Back at the manor, Leo sat calmly as Piper paced the kitchen worried. Wyatt orbed in on the kitchen floor with the girl.

"Wyatt!" Piper exclaimed, running over to him.

"What the hell? How did we get here? How did you do that?" the girl exclaimed, panicking as Wyatt released her.

"Calm down," Wyatt said.

"Stop telling me to calm down! What the hell is happening to me? People coming after me with-with fireballs and I don't even know how I got down there and-_you_! What are you! Where I come from, people don't create fireballs from their hands! And-!" the girl stopped to catch her breath.

Piper hurriedly raised her hands to freeze her, but to her surprise the girl didn't freeze. "I can't freeze her."

The girl's eyes bulged. "Freeze me? What the hell does that mean? What are you people! I gotta get out of here!" The girl turned and tried to leave the kitchen.

"Wait!" Leo exclaimed, reaching out a hand to stop her. She turned around and held up her hands to protect herself. Leo froze. The girl screamed and backed away.

"Mom-!" Wyatt yelled.

"I didn't do that!" Piper yelled back, staring at the girl. "She did!" The girl stared at Leo and then at Piper and Wyatt and in a rush of fear and panic, ran out of the kitchen. Wyatt orbed out and reappeared in front of her just outside the kitchen. She screamed again.

"Please, you have to calm down," Wyatt said. There was a _whack_ and the girl suddenly collapsed onto the floor in a thud. Wyatt stared at his mother standing there, holding a ladle, and his father right behind her.

"What? Worst case scenario: she loses a few brain cells. It's a small price to pay for her shutting up. And besides, you didn't want her to leave. Look, she's not going anywhere," Piper said, smiling. Leo and Wyatt traded exasperated looks. At that moment, Chris and Melinda ran down the stairs.

"What's going on? We heard a lot of yelling!" Chris exclaimed from the top of the stairs.

"Who's she?" Melinda asked.

"You're a little bit late," Piper said, smiling and swinging the ladle. "I already took care of her."

Chris and Melinda looked at their mother swinging the ladle and then at the girl lying on the floor. Before they could say anything, Leo picked up the girl and carried her to the couch.

"Everyone, say hello to Wyatt's first charge," Leo announced, placing the girl gently on the couch.

"His what?" Chris and Melinda exclaimed in shock.

"My what?" Wyatt repeated, in as much shock as his siblings.

"Well, it makes sense. Wyatt _is_ half-whitelighter," Piper said.

"No way! She can't be!" Wyatt exclaimed.

"But she is. The voice you heard, that was her voice calling out to you for help. Ignoring your charge's call for help results in a constant ringing and sometimes, a severe headache; depending on how urgent the call for help is. Usually, the headache's not supposed to be this extreme and Whitelighters don't see visions of their charges, but I'm guessing since you're such a powerful witch, things just got…enhanced," Leo explained, placing a gentle hand on the girl's forehead.

"But I'm perfectly happy embracing my witch duties. Can't they take her back or something? Unmake her my charge?"

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell," Piper said, her hands on her hips. "Is this how we raised you? To look away when an innocent is in danger?"

"Your mother's right, Wyatt. From what I've seen so far, I think she's completely new to magic. And it doesn't help that she was being hunted by demons. She's frightened. We'll all have to be gentle," Leo stood up. "Let's tend to her wound first."

"Should I get Aunt Paige?" Chris asked from his spot at the archway.

"Not yet. We need to show her that we're here to help her, not hurt her. We'll have your Aunt Paige heal it when she wakes up. In the meantime, let's bandage it up," Leo walked away, Wyatt and Chris following.

* * *

_***Author's Note: The next chapter will be updated shortly. Thank you for reading!**  
_


	3. The Webster And Mitchell Households

**Chapter 3: The Webster and Mitchell Households**

Meanwhile, in the Webster household, Phoebe was sitting at the breakfast table, enjoying a cup of coffee. Her eyes were as deep of a brown as they had ever been, and her hair had grown out, the dark curls now pinned on top of her head in a messy bun. If it hadn't been for the hints of gray sprinkled through her hair and the wrinkles on the side of her eyes from too many hours squinting at a laptop screen, one would never have believed that the middle Charmed one was now pushing 54. Age, however, had brought Phoebe the patience and perceptiveness needed to raise her daughters, two of whom were sitting around the breakfast table with her.

Peyton, her middle daughter, was busy simultaneously stifling a yawn and pouring milk into her cereal. Her curly brown hair that was so like Phoebe's was chopped short into a pixie cut, and her brown eyes were as dark as her mother's.

"Is Dad somewhere halfway around the world again, helping people fall in love?" Peyton asked, taking a spoonful of her cereal.

"You know your father. He has duties as a Cupid. Sometimes those duties take him really far away from home." Phoebe sighed.

"Dad will be back soon. He can't stay away from you for long, mom," Charlotte said, smiling. Phoebe looked up and gave her youngest daughter a smile in return. Unlike Peyton, Charlotte grew out her brown locks and this morning, had tied them in a neat braid down her back.

"He's so lucky to be able to go wherever he wants! I wish I could beam," Peyton complained, then peeked at Charlotte over her bowl of cereal. "Hey Char, since _you're_ the only one out of the three of us who got dad's beaming ability-"

"Forget it, Peyton," Charlotte said, shaking her head. "I'm not going to take you halfway across the world."

"Party pooper," Peyton groaned, and then looked around. "Is Prue still not down yet? Should I go wake her up?"

"No need," Prue walked in, wearing her pajamas, her sandy brown hair still messy. She yawned, rubbed her eyes, then took out a pair of sleek blue glasses and put them on. "Morning."

"Morning, Ladybug," Phoebe smiled. "How was your night?"

"Busy. The club was packed last night and there were only three waitresses on hand, me included. I'm starving." She grabbed a bagel on the table and started slathering it with cream cheese.

"Hey-" Peyton started but she was instantly cut off by Phoebe, who waved her finger knowingly.

"Don't even think about training today Peyton. I know you have a Pre-Calculus test tomorrow. Aren't you failing that class? Don't you think you should study?"

Peyton groaned and threw her hands up in frustration. "But it's _math!_ Math doesn't kill demons! Now, training and strengthening my powers on the other hand-"

"Killing demons doesn't pay the rent. Having a career does and in order to do that-"

"I know, I know, I have to graduate. See if I can get into college. Yada, yada, yada."

"You should ask Mel to help you. I remember calculus being a cinch for her. I'm sure she can tutor you in Pre-Cal," Prue said, swallowing the rest of her bagel and washing it down with a cup of orange juice, oblivious to the death glares that Peyton was sending in her direction.

"Good idea, Ladybug. It's settled. Oh and give Piper and all of them a 'hello' from me," Phoebe smiled and drank the rest of her coffee.

"Ok, mom," Peyton grumbled, shoving her spoon into her cereal.

* * *

Across town, in the Mitchell household, Henry was pouring a cup of just-brewed coffee for himself. Dressed in a black shirt and sweats, at 53, he had kept his fit physique and youthful look. He took a sip of his coffee and then placed it on the kitchen counter as he glanced at his watch, 7:50. At that moment, Mitch entered the kitchen, a young man of 21 who bore a striking resemblance to his namesake. Like his father, Mitch had dark brown hair, to which he added golden brown highlights and dark brown eyes. He'd also inherited his father's dimples. His left ear held a sparkly earring.

"Morning, dad," the young man greeted his father, taking his cup of coffee and drinking large gulps. "Thanks, just what I needed."

"Mitch!" Henry exclaimed, his eyes open in exasperation. Mitch laughed as he sat on one of the swiveling seats by the kitchen counter. Henry shook his head and went to pour himself another cup of coffee. He placed it on the counter just as Paige walked in.

"Ah, perfect!" Paige said, spotting the just-brewed cup of coffee and grabbed it, taking a delightful sip. From her pale pink lipstick—she had finally retired the use of her bright red a few years ago—to her reddish-brown locks with all hints of gray colored out, Paige had matured, but not changed.

Henry turned around, saw his wife drinking coffee and looked down at the now empty counter. He groaned and shook his head. "One of these days, I'm going to remember not to leave my coffee laying around like that."

Paige smiled and gave Henry a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the coffee."

Henry turned to look at his wife with a sly twinkle in his eye. "On the other hand…" He put his arm around Paige's waist and pulled her to him. Paige gave him a sly smile of her own. The two shared a kiss.

Mitch looked at his parents and sighed. "You two depress me."

Paige and Henry broke apart and Paige smiled. "Are you still thinking about Madison?"

Mitch placed his head on the counter. "We went out for two years, mom. She's not exactly easy for me to forget."

"I know sweetheart, but it'll get easier, trust me. I got my heart broken a few times before I met your father."

"Didn't you and Wyatt hang out the other day?" Henry asked, taking a sip of his wife's coffee. "How did that go?"

Before Mitch could answer, the door to a nearby bedroom burst open and a young woman stormed out. Her auburn locks were tied back in a messy ponytail and her hazel brown eyes were infuriated. She was still dressed in her pajamas and her towel and a change of clothes were draped over her arm. She stomped to the bathroom door and banged on it.

"Rosie Mitchell! What the hell are you doing in there? Get out already! Rosie!" Pandora banged and yelled, just as the bathroom door opened and Rosie stepped out, dressed in a t-shirt and baggy pants. Her towel was wrapped around her auburn locks and her hazel brown eyes looked at her sister in apology.

"Sorry Pandora, I lost track of time," Rosie said, stepping out of the way so Pandora could enter the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"Well, if our neighbors were sleeping before, they sure aren't now," Mitch said.

"That girl definitely takes after her mother," Henry shook his head.

"Excuse you?" Paige retorted, hands on her hips. "What are you implying, mister?"

"Nothing, honey, nothing" Henry replied, taking another sip of their coffee.

"And that's _my_ coffee you're drinking!" Paige grabbed the cup from Henry, giving him a glare.

"So," Henry turned to Mitch, whose head still laid on the counter. "How did hanging out with Wyatt go?"

Mitch frowned. "Not that great. I think something happened with Wyatt, but he wouldn't tell me anything."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. It's just, we were checking out some girls and then he started getting some ringing in his ears or something. He kept insisting he was fine, but he seemed to have a headache afterwards."

"Wyatt told us this yesterday when Pandora and I were at P3," Rosie added, as she took a seat beside her brother. "He said it was like a hammer pounding in his head, but it wasn't a big deal and he would let us know if anything else happened."

Mitch scoffed. "Yeah, right. Knowing Wyatt, he's going to try to take care of it on his own. After all, he's the most powerful witch to ever walk the face of the earth. His ego is ridiculous."

"You can't blame him though. He _is_ the most powerful witch to ever walk the face of the earth," Rosie pointed out. "He just wants to protect us."

"I know that and don't get me wrong. I love the guy, but sometimes I feel like giving him a couple of rights and yelling, 'Yo, we're witches too!'" Mitch said, shaking his head.

"Maybe it really is nothing to worry about. I mean, it could just be a really bad headache, right?" Henry asked.

Paige frowned. "I don't know. This sounds like something magical. But I have to go. I need to head to Magic School early today." Paige downed the rest of her coffee. "If you ask me, it sounds like his Whitelighter side is finally coming into play. I'm sure he's fine, but call me if you need me." She addressed all of them before orbing out.

Mitch stretched and placed his empty cup on the kitchen counter. "Whitelighter side, eh? Well, I'm off too. I'm going to go drop in on Wyatt, make sure he's ok."

"Oh, I'll go with you. Let me go change," Rosie said, standing up and rushing to the bedroom she shared with Pandora.

"You guys want a ride?" Henry asked. "We could go get breakfast on the way."

"Sure dad," Mitch smiled.

* * *

**_*Author's Note: Thank you guys for the reviews! Next chapter will be up shortly.  
_**


	4. Who's The Girl?

**Chapter 4: Who's The Girl?**

Back in the Halliwell mansion, the young girl was still sleeping on the couch, her injured arm treated and bandaged. Chris was in the living room, looking after her. Piper and Melinda had both left to tend to Halliwell's, their restaurant. In the kitchen, a patient Leo and an agitated Wyatt were having a talk about this sudden turn of events.

"The Elders wouldn't make her your charge if they didn't think you were ready." Leo's tone was gentle as he faced Wyatt, who was sitting with his forehead on the kitchen counter as if he had given up all hope of ever having a headache-free day again.

"I know, but honestly dad, I don't even know where to start. I'm not like Aunt Paige who always knows the right thing to say."

"Your Aunt Paige had to learn how to be a Whitelighter too. We all did. But I know you can do this. All you have to do is trust in yourself," Leo replied, putting a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Dad! Wyatt!" Chris called from the living room and Leo and Wyatt rushed out of the kitchen. In the living room, the young girl was stirring. She opened her eyes and looked around. At the sight of them, she sat up in alarm.

"Whoa, calm down," Chris said, holding out his hands.

She flinched at his touch, and then noticed the bandage on her arm. "Wh-What is this?"

"We treated your wound," Leo answered, slowly approaching her. "But we can do more than that. Can we show you what we mean?" The girl eyed him suspiciously, but she didn't back away when Leo touched her bandage.

"That's my cue," Chris said and orbed out.

The girl gasped. "How did he do that?"

"Good magic," Leo answered, slowly removing the bandages to reveal the wound, which had stopped bleeding but had contorted her skin into red and black burned flesh. "And evil magic did this to you." At that moment, Chris and Paige orbed in. Paige rushed to the young girl and reached for her arm. The girl reflexively backed away.

"It's ok, I can help you," Paige said. The young girl eyed her warily, but slowly held out her arm. Paige held her hands over it which began to glow as she healed the wound. "There."

The girl stared at her now-healed arm. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," Paige winked. "They'll explain everything. I need to get back." And she orbed back out.

"Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on?" the young girl asked as Wyatt and Chris shared a look.

"My name is Wyatt, and this is my brother Chris," Wyatt started, as Chris gave a wave. "We're witches, good witches, and the guys who came after you were demons."

The girl stared at them for a second. "You two aren't kidding, are you?"

"Afraid not," Chris said.

"So...let me get this straight. You're telling me that witches and demons and all of that stuff actually exist?" The young girl asked. They nodded. "Okay…so…where does that leave me? Why did those…demons want me?"

"Probably 'cause you're a witch too. Demons just love to attack us. You'd think they have something better to do," Chris answered, getting a smile from the girl.

"What's your name?" Wyatt asked.

"Amy," the girl replied. "I can't believe this. I'm a witch? Uh, that's a good thing, right?"

Wyatt smiled. "Yeah, that's a good thing. You're not just a witch, you're also my charge."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm only half-witch. My mother is a witch, but my father," Wyatt gestured to Leo who was still standing in the background. "He gave me his Whitelighter genes. Um, a sort of guardian angel for witches. Whitelighters watch over their charges and help them whenever they're needed. Do you get it?"

Amy nodded. "So, you're my, err, Whitelighter? You're supposed to come to my aid?" Wyatt nodded. "Then what took you so long?" Amy asked, crossing her arms. Chris stifled a laugh.

"Hey, I'm new at this too. You're my first charge," Wyatt replied back, crossing his arms. "At least I came for you. If I didn't, you would probably be dead right now."

"Then that would mean you failed to save your first charge. If you're really a good person, then that should haunt your conscience for the rest of your life."

Chris smiled at Amy. "Hey, I like the way you think."

"So, if I'm a witch, does that mean I have powers?" Amy asked, her caution finally subsiding. She looked up in eagerness. Wyatt nodded. "Really? Awesome! What are they?"

"You tell us," Wyatt replied. Amy frowned. At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"I got it," Chris went to open the door to find Henry, Mitch, and Rosie standing there on the front porch.

"Hey, Chris," Mitch greeted his cousin, hitting him lightly on the arm.

"Hey, come in," Chris stepped aside to let them in. "Guys, you won't believe what just happened." He led them to the living room.

"Who's she?" Mitch asked, gesturing to Amy still sitting on the couch.

"Guys, meet Amy," Chris said, grinning. "She's Wyatt's first charge."

"Whoa! A charge? You're kidding!" Mitch exclaimed, grinning too. "Looks like mom was right. Nice to meet you, Amy, my name's Mitch, that's Rosie and that's our dad."

"Uh…hi."

"We're cousins," Chris explained. "And they're witches too."

"Oh! It runs in the family? Are you half-witch, half-Whitelighter like he is?" Amy asked Mitch, obviously interested.

"Kind of. My mother's half-witch, half-Whitelighter, but my father," Mitch gestured to Henry behind him. "He's just a mortal."

"Excuse me? Just a mortal? What's that supposed to mean?" Henry said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at his son.

"What, you are!" Mitch exclaimed in defense, as they all laughed.

"Complicated lineage," Amy said.

"Yeah, it all starts making sense after a while, don't worry. So in case you were wondering, I've got the power of deflection, know what that is?" Mitch asked, grinning.

"Dude, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what the power of deflection is," Chris said teasingly, laughing and ducking as Mitch aimed a punch at him.

Rosie rolled her eyes. "What's your power, Amy?"

Amy frowned. "I don't know. I'm kinda new to this stuff. Just earlier I was freaking out and screaming like a crazy maniac." They laughed.

"I know how you feel," Henry said from his place under the archway. "I couldn't believe magic was actually real when Paige, their mother, first told me. But I learned just how amazing good magic is. You've been given a great gift, Amy."

Amy smiled. "I think I'm starting to realize that myself. I just wish I knew what my powers were."

"I think I have an idea," Leo finally spoke up from his corner. Everyone looked at him. "I want to run a test first."

* * *

**_*Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! Truly._**


	5. Mimiwhat?

**Chapter 5: Mimiwhat?**

A few moments later, Amy was standing alone in the middle of the attic holding a piece of paper. Wyatt and the others were all hiding behind an overturned couch near her.

"Tell me again why we're having Amy summon the demon to her? We might as well be handing her straight to the demon!" Wyatt hissed in an angry whisper.

"I agree with Wyatt, dad. Are you sure about this?" Chris asked, worried.

"No, but that's why you guys are here," Leo replied as Wyatt's jaw dropped.

Chris grinned at his brother. "Dude, calm down. You're the most powerful witch ever, I'm sure you alone can take on whatever sorry excuse for a demon comes."

"I second that," Mitch said, patting Wyatt's shoulder.

"It's not the demon I'm worried about. He won't stand a chance against me," Wyatt replied as Chris and Mitch rolled their eyes. "I just don't want Amy to get hurt. I'm supposed to protect her and here I am, letting her be bait! What am I thinking?"

"You're thinking that dad is crazy, but he wouldn't be putting an innocent's life in danger if he didn't have a damn good back-up plan, which is us, so relax okay?" Chris replied, as they all smiled, even Wyatt who loosened up just a bit.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Leo asked. They all nodded. "Amy, whenever you're ready."

Amy nodded and started to recite the summoning spell:

_Hear my call_

_I summon thee_

_My demonic attacker_

_Come to me_

"That's your summoning spell?" Chris asked Wyatt in disbelief.

"Short, simple, to the point," Wyatt replied. "Hey, it's working!" A small tornado-like gust of wind appeared in front of Amy, who was staring at it with wide eyes. The tornado disappeared and the demon, the same type who threw fireballs at her, stood there, looking around. He saw Amy, and grinned.

"Stupid witch." He created a fireball and threw it at Amy, but as soon as the fireball touched her, it vanished, leaving her unscathed. Everyone, including the demon, looked at her with shock and disbelief. "What?" The demon created another fireball and threw it at her, but the same thing happened.

"Amy, make a fireball! Copy what he's doing!" Leo yelled from his spot behind the couch. The demon turned and aimed a fireball at them, but Wyatt and Chris orbed everyone out just in time. They reappeared behind the demon. Wyatt waved his hand and the demon was sent flying towards a stack of boxes. Leo stood up and called out again to Amy, who was staring at the demon, terrified. "Amy, you can do it. Just copy him and make a fireball."

Amy turned from Leo to the demon and back again. The demon was getting up. He created another fireball. Wyatt and Chris stood their ground, prepared to fight.

"No!" Leo shouted, pulling his sons back and pushing Mitch to the front, causing his sons and Henry to look at him as if he's lost his mind.

"What are you doing?" Henry demanded.

"Mitch, deflect his fireballs, but don't kill him," Leo ordered. Mitch gave him the same look that everyone else was giving him, but nodded. At that moment, the demon threw his fireball at them. Mitch held up his hand and deflected the fireball onto the demon's right arm, which exploded in a blast of blood and guts. The demon screamed in agony but was still alive. "Wyatt, Chris, whatever you do, don't let the demon move. Hold him down."

Wyatt and Chris nodded and both held up their hands. The demon was pushed back against the wall and held there with their telekinesis.

Leo walked over to Amy. "Amy, I know you're scared. I want you to use your fear and channel it into a desire for survival. You need to kill him with a fireball. You've seen how he does it. Just copy him."

Amy looked from the demon who was struggling to get free to Leo who nodded and gave her a you-can-do-it look.

Chris, on the other hand, suddenly seemed to realize something. He whispered to Wyatt. "Lift the telekinesis around the demon's arm. Let him make a fireball."

Wyatt gave Chris a look of sheer disbelief. "Are you crazy? What the hell's gotten into you and dad?" He whispered back furiously.

"Just do it, trust me," Chris replied back in an undertone. Wyatt frowned, but reluctantly nodded. Together, the two of them slowly lifted the telekinesis around the demon's arm. The demon abruptly made a fireball and threw it at Leo and Amy. Amy saw it coming and stepped in front of Leo, holding up her hand to protect them. The fireball made contact with Amy's arm, but didn't harm her. Amy's hand, however, now held her own fireball. Leo and Chris grinned. Everyone else stared at her in amazement.

"You did it! Throw it at him!" Leo shouted. Amy threw the fireball towards the demon, causing him to erupt into flames.

"Did I just do that?" Amy asked, stunned, looking at her hand.

"Congratulations Amy. You've been given the power of mimicry," Leo announced as everyone began to understand.

"Mimi-what?" Amy asked, still stunned at what just happened.

"Mimicry," Chris repeated. "It's an extremely rare and powerful ability. It all makes sense. That's why you can make fireballs."

"And how you froze dad earlier," Wyatt said, understanding.

"Wait, you did what?"

"Not the point, Chris."

"I still don't understand," Amy said, staring at her hand.

"Come on, have a seat," Wyatt said gently, pushing her onto a chair. "Just relax. I know it's been a long day for you. Great job on the demon vanquish, by the way." Amy smiled weakly.

"I'll get you a drink of water. All the demon stuff usually overwhelms me too," Henry said, leaving the attic.

Rosie, who was near the Book of Shadows, was flipping through it. "Found it," Rosie looked up. "You wanted to know what your power was, right? Listen to this: 'Mimicry is the rare, extremely powerful ability that allows the user to copy any power, ability, and magic and use it as their own. Once a power has been used on the user, it will not work against him anymore, granting the user complete immunity.' Wow that is amazing."

Amy looked up at Rosie and stared at her. "Wait, that's my power? Are you sure? That sounds way too good."

Rosie laughed. "Come here and check it out for yourself."

Amy made her way to the Book of Shadows and gently touched it. "What is this book?"

"It's called the Book of Shadows," Rosie answered. "It's an old family heirloom; it contains all the witchcraft knowledge that's been in our family since our first ancestor. Only good magic can touch it."

Amy turned to Rosie, who smiled. She then turned back to the page and scanned it. "I can't believe it. This is all so…"

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Henry finished the sentence, returning to the attic with a glass of water. "I told you. Here, it may not be much, but it's something."

"Thanks," Amy said, taking the water. "So, because of this ability, my ability, I can now throw fireballs? And I can freeze people?"

"That's right," Leo said. "But you have yet to control your power. There's more about this ability that the book doesn't include."

"More? Like what else?" Amy asked, her eyes wide.

"Like the fact that you can only copy a power that's used against you. That's why you can make fireballs and freeze people," Wyatt answered. "The demons hit you with a fireball, and earlier, my mom tried to freeze you. That means, there are some powers you won't be able to copy, like orbing for example."

Amy nodded. "Orbing, what is that?"

"This," Chris replied, orbing out of the attic and then orbing back in.

"I can't believe I'm actually a witch…this is all actually happening," Amy said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, it is, but don't worry, I'll help you through it. I'll teach you everything you need to know about witchcraft," Wyatt placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and gave him a grateful smile.

* * *

**_*Author's Note: It's starting to get a little longer now for me to update...foreboding omen? Hopefully not...next chapter is almost up!_**


	6. The Demons Are Back & Bianca Drops In

**Chapter 6: The Demons Are Back & Bianca Drops In**

It was dim. Torches placed at regular intervals on the rough, cavern walls provided the only light. There was a pile of rope tossed in the corner among some jagged rocks, as if someone was recently bound there and escaped. Two beings, demons, were standing in the cave, their dark-haired heads down while a third taller demon scolded them.

"How hard can it be to watch one stupid little witch until I get back? You incompetent fools!" The demon shouted, his eyes livid and his tone furious. "And to top it all off, now she's immune to fireballs!"

"I panicked, Grodno, but I can get her back! If you'll let me-" one of the demons said before Grodno interrupted him.

"You've done enough." Grodno waved his hands and the demon erupted into flames, before finally being vanquished. Grodno pulled out an athame and stroked its blade with his finger. He addressed the other demon. "Find the witch and when you do, contact me immediately. I will have her power and with it, I will collect more powers than any demon has ever possessed. I will be unstoppable." He added in a menacing tone. "Don't fail me." The demon nodded, and then shimmered out.

* * *

It was noisy and bustling inside a cozy restaurant. Many of the tables were filled with chattering customers seated in soft cushioned chairs and waiters rushed around delivering their orders. There was a long counter on one side of the restaurant where a waiter dished out plates of delicious-looking food. It was at this counter that Melinda was seated, her hair still in a ponytail, but now wearing a white ruffle blouse, a dark blue pencil skirt and a matching blue belt. She was enjoying a glass of iced tea. The restaurant door jingled open and Peyton stepped inside. She had applied black eyeliner and was wearing a green tank top under her black unzipped sweater and gray ripped jeans. She instantly spotted Melinda and took a seat next to her.

"Hey," Peyton greeted Melinda, before turning to address the waiter. "Can I get a soda? Pepsi?" The waiter nodded. Peyton glanced around the restaurant. "Damn, this place is pretty packed."

"Yeah," Melinda said, and then turned to her cousin. "So what's going on?"

The waiter handed Peyton her Pepsi. She took a sip. "It's Sunday. I'm bored."

Melinda raised an eyebrow. "So you decided to come hang with me while I'm working? Wow, you must have reached the epitome of boredom."

Peyton laughed, and then sighed. "I've been forbidden to do you-know-what today." She fiddled with her straw for a bit, and then hit the counter with her fists in frustration. "How did you do it, Mel?"

"Do what?"

"Understand the gibberish in your classes," Peyton replied, frowning.

Melinda laughed. "How long are you grounded? Until your next report card comes out?"

"No, thank God. Just today. I have a Pre-Calc test tomorrow. I'm supposed to be studying for it."

Melinda smiled. "Now I understand." Peyton turned to her as she addressed the waiter. "Scott, can you tell my mother that I had to leave to take care of something with Peyton?" Scott, the waiter, nodded. Melinda got off her seat as Peyton stared. "Well? If I'm going to help you study for your test, then we're going to have to start moving."

Peyton jumped off her chair and gave Melinda a hug, grinning. "I owe you one, Mel."

"Yes you do," Melinda replied, returning the grin. The two young women walked out of the restaurant as Melinda said, "By the way, did you know? Wyatt's got his first charge."

"What? No way! Who is it?"

* * *

Back in the Halliwell Manor, Wyatt and Amy were seated in the living room with Henry, Mitch, and Rosie. Chris had left to open up P3 and Leo had headed off to Magic School. There were glasses of water on the table in between them.

"So, what happened? How did you end up in the Underworld?" Wyatt asked.

"The Underworld? That's what that place is called?" Amy replied.

"And it's not a place you'll be going back to anytime soon," Wyatt said, firmly.

Amy scoffed. "Don't worry. I'm not exactly in a hurry to have a fireball thrown in my face, and whatever else gets thrown around down there."

"You know, for someone who's new to magic, you sure are catching fast," Mitch said.

"Back to the situation at hand: how did you end up there in the first place?" Wyatt asked again, crossing his arms and frowning.

Amy thought for a bit. "I was walking home and I think I got knocked out. Next thing I know, I'm tied up in a cave somewhere with those demons."

"Wait, knocked out? Since when did demons change their M.O.?" Mitch asked, raising an eyebrow at the others.

"Quiet," Wyatt cut in, causing the others to be silent. He addressed Amy again. "Go on."

Amy continued. "I was freaked out and I wanted to get the hell out of there. I heard the demons say something about watching me until Grodno returned."

"Grodno? Who's Grodno?" Henry asked, looking alert.

"I'm on it," Mitch jumped off the seat and rushed up to the attic to check the book.

"Where is he going?" Amy asked.

"To check the Book of Shadows; if we're lucky, this Grodno guy will be in it," Rosie answered.

Wyatt frowned. "How did you escape?" They all looked at him. "When I found you, you were running away from them. How did you escape?"

"There was a rock behind me. I used it to cut the rope. Old trick, but it works," Amy replied.

"Nice," Henry said and Amy smiled at him. At that moment, there was a stomping sound as Mitch came running back down the stairs, the Book of Shadows in his hands.

"I found him. 'Grodno: Stealthy and quick, this once-low-level warlock has acquired many powers over the years through his signature weapon: a power-sucking athame. Do not underestimate him. His blinking ability is remarkably fast.' Well, I think that answers why he's after you, and why you were knocked out. He probably knows what power you have."

"How is that possible? I didn't even know what power I had," Amy said.

"These demons have their ways of finding stuff out," Henry answered. "That's just one of the things I learned."

"Which means it's only a matter of time before he finds out you're here and comes after you again," Wyatt added. "Amy, stay here. Mitch, Rosie, I need you to watch her."

"What? Where are you going?" Amy asked.

"To take care of this demon once and for all."

"Hold on, there's a spell here to vanquish him," Mitch said, but Wyatt cut him short.

"I don't need a spell," Wyatt replied, orbing out. Mitch and Rosie gave out exasperated sighs.

"Is he going to be okay?" Amy asked, worried.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about him, he can take on half the Underworld by himself and he never lets us forget it," Mitch replied, shutting the book, harder than necessary.

"What do you mean he can take on half the Underworld by himself?" Amy asked, eyes wide. "You're just exaggerating, right?" They chuckled.

Mitch gave her a knowing look. "Seeing is believing so just wait until you see your new bodyguard in action."

Amy laughed and looked around at them. Mitch, laid-back and laughing, Rosie rolling her eyes at her brother, and Henry at ease; Amy smiled. _This whole witch thing may not be such a bad thing after all._

* * *

Across town in P3, Chris was sitting on the counter in front of a laptop, a drink next to him. Another man, in his young twenties, Asian with spiky black hair and a dog tag necklace, was putting all the chairs down. A young woman with straight brown hair, dark brown eyes and a curvy figure wearing a v-necked white shirt and low jeans entered the club. The Asian man noticed, and was about to alert Chris when the woman put a finger to her lips. She then slowly approached Chris and slid her hands around his waist, placing her chin on his shoulder.

Chris jumped, but laughed when he saw the woman. "Bianca! What are you doing here?" She released him as he turned around and placed his hands on her waist.

"I just thought I'd drop in," Bianca said, smiling. "But if you're too busy…" Bianca started to turn away and acted as if she was going to leave.

Chris held her back and stood up to give her a kiss on her lips. When they parted, Chris whispered, "I'm never too busy for you." Bianca smiled.

"Cheesy, but I'll take it," Bianca sat down on a chair next to Chris. "So, I had another talk with my mom this morning." Chris paused from his work and turned to Bianca, his expression serious. Bianca fiddled with the straw in Chris's drink. "Nothing new, just tried to talk me out of it again. She said I'm making a mistake and that I can't just turn my back on who I am and who I was born to be."

"Bianca…" Chris started.

"I'm not changing my decision," Bianca interrupted. "I still want to leave and start over with you. It's just…what if I can't do it? I mean, being a Phoenix, that's the only thing I know, Chris. No one can run from who they really are…"

"But you're not running from who you are. I want you to stay this way, beautiful, smart, and someone who can kick some serious ass," Chris said, making Bianca laugh. He placed a hand on her cheek. "I want you to stay the woman I fell in love with, just with a different occupation." He smiled and she laughed again. He pulled her to him and gave her a hug. "Don't forget, you're not doing this alone. I'm here." Bianca smiled and faced Chris again. She leaned in to give him a kiss.

At that moment, Pandora walked down the stairs into the club. Her auburn locks were tied in a ponytail and she was wearing a sleeveless low-cut black top and jeans. She passed the Asian man putting down the last of the chairs, not noticing the stare he gave her.

"Oh…am I interrupting?" Pandora asked, causing Chris and Bianca to break apart. "Oh please, don't stop on my account."

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked, slightly annoyed.

"Just wondering if everything's okay with Wyatt," Pandora took a seat. "And to apologize for yesterday, I guess I need to work on my sarcasm, huh?" Bianca looked from Chris to Pandora.

"Yeah, and I guess I overreacted," Chris replied, looking at his laptop. "Wyatt's got his first charge."

"Oh, so that's what it all was," Pandora said. "Who is she?"

"A girl named Amy," Chris replied, and then addressed the Asian man. "Hey Rick, can you get more glasses from the back?" Rick nodded and passed them as he went into the storage room, checking Pandora out again from over his shoulder. This time, Bianca noticed. A sly smile appeared on her face. Chris continued, "She's new to the uh-craft, but she's got the ability of mimicry."

"That's coveted," Bianca remarked, adding to the conversation. "Every de-uh bad guy is going to be after her. That ability's a one-way ticket to ruler of the Under-" Chris cleared his throat as Rick re-appeared, carrying a box. Bianca continued. "Well, you know what I mean."

"No one's going to touch her, not with Wyatt around," Pandora said, laughing as Chris tensed up.

Bianca noticed and placed an arm around Chris, smiling. "Oh, I don't know, I mean Wyatt's good and all, but he's not that good. I still think Chris can take him on." She winked at him and he smiled as he continued to work.

"Of course you do," Pandora replied. "So are you two engaged yet?" Chris choked on his drink as Bianca blushed. Pandora laughed. "Oh, here I go, getting ahead of myself again. Don't mind me and my silly ideas."

"So, do you have a boyfriend now?" Bianca asked, changing the subject as Chris determinedly kept working.

"Nope, still single, I know, you can't believe it either," Pandora answered, shaking her head as Bianca laughed.

"Wasn't there a guy last time? What was his name again, Juice?" Chris asked, as Pandora looked at him in surprise.

"Bruce," Pandora said, smiling. "I can't believe you remembered. Aw, you do care about me, Chris."

"Don't let it get to your head," Chris answered, not looking up from his laptop.

Bianca glanced at Rick who was cleaning the glasses behind Pandora and obviously listening to every word. She smiled and said, "What happened with Bruce then?"

Pandora shrugged. "The guy was a douche. Constantly groping me."

"So, out of curiosity, what do you look for in a guy then?" Bianca asked. Chris sensed that something was going on and gave Bianca a look. She gave him a sly smile and turned back to Pandora who was thinking about the question.

"I don't know, just someone who's not all about the way I look I guess," Pandora answered. "I mean, even though Rosie and I are identical twins, she ends up with all the nice sensitive guys who don't just care about the size of her boobs." Chris choked on his drink again. "And I get stuck with all the perverted guys who can't seem to look past that."

Bianca gestured Pandora to get closer and then whispered so that no one else can hear, "That guy Rick has been checking you out this whole time." Pandora's eyes widened and she casually glanced over her shoulder, locking eyes with Rick who gave her a smile. She smiled back and turned around again.

"He's been listening to the entire conversation too," Bianca said, smiling and gave Pandora a wink. Pandora laughed and Bianca nudged her. "Go get him." Pandora smiled and got off the chair, casually making her way over to Rick.

Chris, who had been quiet this whole time, elbowed Bianca. "What did you do?"

"Just think of me as your friendly, neighborhood matchmaker," Bianca answered, smiling.

"That's Charlotte's area of expertise, not yours," Chris said. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Hey, every woman's got an inner Cupid, even if she's not part one," Bianca replied, as Chris shook his head and went back to work.

* * *

**_*Author's Note: Thank you guys for the reviews! It's just really nice to know someone out there is reading this. _**


	7. One Down

**Chapter 7: One Down  
**

Meanwhile, down in the Underworld, Grodno was absorbing another power from his athame when the demon he sent to look for Amy shimmered in.

"Well?" Grodno asked, taking a deep breath as his new power coursed through his body.

"She's under the protection of her Whitelighter, one of the sons of the eldest Charmed One, Piper Halliwell," the demon reported. "I believe it is the older one, the Twice-Blessed Child."

Grodno frowned. "Of course. Someone with such a rare power would be placed in the care of such a powerful witch." He stroked the blade in thought. "I must have her power."

"Too bad, 'cause you're not going to get it," a voice said, and Grodno turned to see Wyatt standing near the door of the cave. Wyatt looked around the cave. "Kinda shabby for someone who plans to be the next ruler of the Underworld, don't you think?"

The other demon threw a fireball at Wyatt who held up his hands and easily shielded himself. "Is that the best he can do? I guess it's getting harder to find demons that do your bidding." Wyatt grinned and raised his hands, blowing up the demon in a shower of orbs. "He's so weak; you probably won't even miss him."

Grodno, who didn't even flinch when Wyatt blew up his demon, now smiled. "You're very arrogant, you know that?"

"I have reason to be."

"Oh yes, I know. Your reputation precedes you, Wyatt Halliwell. You're supposed to have the most powers any witch has ever had," Grodno said, still smiling.

"Not supposed, I do have," Wyatt replied. Suddenly, Grodno blinked and disappeared. Wyatt immediately put up his shield, just as Grodno re-appeared behind him and tried to stab him with his athame. He managed to scratch Wyatt's flesh before the shield threw him off his feet. Wyatt turned around and waved his hand, forcing the athame out of Grodno's hands and flying through the shield into his. "Nice," Wyatt said, admiring the knife, then turned to Grodno. "Here, I'll make this more of an even playing field."

Wyatt lowered the shield, grinning. Grodno, who was starting to get frustrated and affected by Wyatt's sneering remarks, waved his hands and the athame flew out of Wyatt's grip and hung there in midair. Grodno turned his hands and the athame turned as well, until the tip was pointing at Wyatt. Then it was sent towards him, but Wyatt easily stopped it in its tracks with a raise of his hand.

Grodno took this opportunity to create an energy whip which he wrapped around Wyatt's other hand. He then generated electricity which traveled through the whip and into Wyatt, starting to electrocute him. Wyatt flinched, but released the telekinesis on the athame, dropping it to the floor and waved his hand, blowing up Grodno. The whip disappeared and Wyatt rubbed his arm, which despite heating up, was unscathed. Grodno, however, displayed yet another power as he reconstituted back into his form. He gasped, panting as Wyatt stared. "Well, this is getting interesting."

Grodno then waved his hands, attempting to cause Wyatt to erupt into flames. Although fire did appear around Wyatt, Wyatt's shield was faster and stopped the rest of Grodno's attack. Wyatt then caused the flames to disappear, completely unharmed. "You know, I can do that too." He waved his hands at Grodno, who erupted into flames, and then with his projection power, he amplified the flames. Grodno screamed in anguish and soon, was vanquished, this time, unable to reconstitute. Wyatt let down his shield, picked up the athame, and orbed back home.

* * *

Back in the Halliwell Manor, Mitch and Rosie were explaining the basics of being a witch to Amy, as Henry looked through the Book of Shadows.

"We always keep those potion ingredients in stock, just so we can make simple potions and whatnot, but when it comes to more powerful threats, we come here," Rosie was saying.

"Yeah, this is where we gather for all the serious demon-fighting stuff," Mitch added. "That and the Book is here."

"You know, I can never get over this book," Henry spoke up, looking up from reading it. "Everything that I ever thought couldn't exist is all here: mermaids, leprechauns, Pandora's Box." He flips a page as Wyatt orbs in.

"Wyatt! Are you ok?" Amy asked, jumping a bit at his entrance.

Mitch smiled. "You'll get used to the orbing thing."

"What happened?" Rosie asked.

"I got rid of Grodno," Wyatt answered. "He had a lot more powers than I thought he did. And he was really fast."

"Both of which, if you had paid any attention to what I read from the Book, you would've been more prepared for," Mitch stated, a hint of scolding in his tone.

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "You know, I do still have an athame in my hand. I don't think you can deflect that."

"Speaking of the athame," Mitch said, ignoring Wyatt's comment. "Imagine if we stored all the demonic powers in there and then absorbed them. We would be so powerful! Demons would really have to fear us then."

"Mitch!" Rosie and Henry exclaimed, shocked.

"Can you do that?" Amy asked, eyes wide.

"Technically, yes," Wyatt answered. "But that can drive you crazy. It's not wise to have too many powers. It makes you crave it, and then you lose sight of what's good and what's evil. You cross the line."

"Says the witch with the most powers in history," Mitch grumbled, sitting back in his chair, frowning.

"Which were born in me, not absorbed from an athame."

"Wyatt, why don't you orb Amy home? It's been a hectic day, I think she needs time to process it," Rosie smiled at Amy, but gave Wyatt a 'go' look.

"Yeah, good idea," Wyatt replied, handing the athame over to Rosie. "Take care of that." Rosie nodded. Wyatt turned to Amy, but she took a step back.

"Um, what do you mean, 'orb me home'?" Amy asked.

Wyatt held out his hand. "Take my hand and find out." Amy hesitantly placed her hand in Wyatt's and the two orbed out. Once they did, Rosie turned to Mitch.

"When are you going to get over this need for more powers? You should be happy with what you were gifted with. And lay off Wyatt already! He didn't ask to be this powerful!" Rosie reprimanded her brother. "You're being a baby about all this, you know." Rosie grabbed the Book and with the knife in her other hand, got up and went to the attic.

Henry sighed and looked at his son who was looking down, still frowning, but also looking slightly ashamed. "Hey, you okay?" Mitch took a deep breath. "Look, I get it." Mitch started to say something. "No, really, I do. Out of all the people in this family, you got the short end of the stick. I know how that feels, Mitch, but your sister's right. You can't be taking out your anger on Wyatt like that. Whether you have one power or ten, it doesn't make a difference. It doesn't change the fact that you were given the power of deflection for a reason, and you're going to do great things with it, save lives, be able to protect the people you love. That's what's important, right? Not who can vanquish more demons."

Mitch smiled and looked at his dad. "Thanks dad. I guess I should apologize to Wyatt when he gets back, huh?"

"I'm sure he understands, but that's not such a bad idea."

* * *

**_*Author's Note: For all of you who are still bearing with me through all my ridiculous, unexplained and sudden hiatuses, I thank you, so much! I hope you guys enjoyed this part. I'll be doing my best to get this story rolling again.  
_**


	8. The Newbie Impresses

**Chapter 8: The Newbie Impresses**

The lights were off. In the dark, it seemed to be a rather small living room. Blue-white orbs suddenly appeared and Wyatt orbed in with Amy. He let go of her hand and held her steady as she wobbled a bit.

"Oh…so that's orbing," Amy said, her voice slightly queasy.

Wyatt chuckled. "You'll get used to it. It's not so bad after a while."

"Uh-huh…" Amy replied, still a little wobbly on her feet. She made her way to a nearby couch, obviously very familiar with the room, and sat down. "How long have you been orbing again?"

"Since I was…two? Oh wait, since I was a baby. I remember my mom telling me how I once orbed her to find my dad who was trapped in some evil witch's cave or something. Don't remember all the details to be honest. But I was just a baby then," Wyatt answered, nodding. He looked around. "Should we turn some lights on?"

Amy stared at Wyatt, a mixture of awe and bewilderment. "Uh sure…the switch is by the door, over there…" Wyatt made his way to the door, and turned on the lights. It was a modest room with a small couch that looked old, a small wooden coffee table on which many papers were scattered about and a window with common blinds. There was no carpet on the wooden floors, hardly any paintings or decorations on the walls, and across from the couch were two doors. Amy started to say, "It's a small place, I know."

"No, that's not-," Wyatt started, and then chuckled. "It's a nice place, but uh…do you live alone?"

"Yeah, I do," Amy answered, getting up. "Do you want something to drink or something?"

"No, thanks," Wyatt looked around. "So where do your parents live then?"

"Why do you ask?" Amy said, the tone in her voice stating that this was not a subject she liked to discuss. She made her way through one of the doors, which revealed a modest, but very clean kitchen. She got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator just as Wyatt appeared in the doorway. "You sure you don't want one?" She gestured to the water.

"Alright, thanks," Wyatt replied, as Amy took out another bottle. "You know magic is inherited. Your powers are in your blood. Which means that your parents or your grandparents have powers too…"

Amy paused from drinking the water and stared at Wyatt. "What…?"

"Yeah…" Wyatt twisted the cap on the bottle. "Anyways, I'm asking because well, you're in danger and maybe you should move back in with your parents for a little while, they can help me protect you, just until I can help you get your powers under control." Amy tensed up and looked away. Wyatt said hesitantly, "Bad idea…?"

Amy placed her hands on the kitchen counter and looked down, sighing. She replied in a quiet voice, "My parents are dead."

Wyatt's eyes widened. "Oh…I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Yeah, no it's alright, and I don't think they have powers either. They never showed even the slightest bit of it," Amy said, standing up straight again and taking a deep breath.

They were both quiet for a bit. Wyatt then asked in a gentle voice, "How did it happen?"

"Wrong place at the wrong time," Amy answered, looking down sadly. Her voice was soft. "Happened a few months ago. After that, I moved out of the apartment we lived in and moved in here. Rent is more affordable."

"You should be proud of yourself. Not a lot of people could've pulled through like that," Wyatt said, with a smile.

Amy looked up, and gave Wyatt a smile of her own. "Thanks Wyatt."

* * *

Over the course of the next few weeks, Amy found herself trying to juggle attending classes, working at her part-time job, and learning witchcraft regularly with Wyatt. She had thought that some of her professors were harsh in the past, but now realized that they were a walk in the park compared to the strictness of Wyatt. Incredibly serious about the craft, Wyatt emphasized the importance of knowing everything there was to know about magic, and by everything he meant _everything_. He didn't just teach Amy spell-casting and potion-brewing and Demonology 101, he also went in-depth about the history of magic and its developments over the centuries and its numerous symbolic items and its many rules and Amy didn't even know what else. She found herself at the end of every lesson with a severe headache and a newfound fondness for Advil.

Earlier this morning, Amy had groggily made her way through her classes, barely paying attention to her professors' lectures. Instead, her mind was preoccupied going over the notes she memorized last night in preparation for Wyatt's quiz later that day. She had been warned by Melinda the day before that Wyatt tended to take his magical quizzes very seriously, an annoying trait apparently inherited from Piper, and she didn't want to let him down. He was a pain in the ass, but he meant well and was dedicated to training her; she didn't want him to think that she didn't care. So instead of reviewing her biology notes for her lecture, she had spent the night going over everything Wyatt had told her about magic. There was so much to memorize that she ended up staying awake well into the night. A cold shower in the morning and a large cup of coffee were basically all that was keeping her going, and she had already felt their effects fading halfway through her classes. But that was this morning; now she sat, fully awake at the small table in the kitchen, across from Wyatt who was quizzing her.

"What are the three essentials of magic?" Wyatt held a pen in one hand and a list of questions in the other, and he was making notes on the questions Amy answered incorrectly, which up to this point had been none.

"The three essentials of magic are timing, feeling, and the phases of the moon," Amy answered, reciting her notes from memory. She was feeling proud of herself for getting all the answers right so far, but she knew better than to celebrate. Wyatt wasn't done yet.

"Which of the following herbs is used for magical purposes? A) Aloe plant B) Ragged Robin C) Cupid's Dart D) None of the above or E) All of the above?"

Amy thought back to the long list of herbs that Wyatt had talked about. She remembered him saying that the herbs were divided between medical, magical, and aromatic, and she had tried to remember every single one, but there were so many. _Come on, think_! She mentally scolded herself, and envisioned her notes in her mind. _Magical herbs, magical herbs…_

"B) Ragged Robin," Amy answered.

"Are you sure?" Wyatt fixed Amy with a steady gaze, his face expressionless as he raised an eyebrow, trying to make her doubt herself.

"Yes, no wait, gah!" Amy let out a cry of frustration and held her head in her hands, feeling another headache coming on.

At that moment, the kitchen door opened and Chris came walking in, his hair tousled as if he had just rolled out of bed. He stopped at the sight of Wyatt and Amy.

"What are you guys doing?"

"I'm quizzing her, did you just wake up?" Wyatt asked, staring at his brother incredulously.

"Dude, she looks like her head's about to explode, how long have you been quizzing her?"

"Not long," Wyatt replied.

"About an hour," Amy corrected, causing Chris to almost choke on the glass of orange juice he had just poured for himself.

"An hour?"

"Hey, you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun," Wyatt shrugged, ignoring the silent stares coming from Amy and Chris. "You were right, by the way, it is Ragged Robin." Wyatt said to Amy, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"How did she do?" Chris asked.

"Pretty good, she got all of them right." Wyatt nodded at Amy, giving her a satisfied smile. "I have to admit, I'm really impressed, Amy."

Amy laughed. "Thanks."

"I'd say she deserves a day off from the magic lessons from Hell, don't you Wyatt?" Chris asked as he helped himself to one of his mom's homemade muffins.

"I agree," Amy piped in, and then added hastily. "Not that I think your lessons are from Hell or anything."

Wyatt laughed. "It's okay. I know I can be a little strict and unreasonable sometimes." Chris coughed a couple of times, causing Wyatt to turn to him. "You never answered my question. Did you just wake up?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. You wanna know why? Because I didn't get home until 6 this morning. Why didn't I get home until 6 this morning? Because I was at the club last night, by myself, _again_ because _somebody_ apparently had much more important errands to run. Well, I'm done covering for you, I need a break. You're opening P3 tonight." Chris said all this in between bites of his muffin, which he was now washing down with the juice.

Wyatt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Um, I can't." Chris paused from reaching for his second muffin, and slowly turned to his brother, his eyes daring Wyatt to continue. Wyatt casually glanced out the window, and said, "I have something to take care of tonight."

"Is it a woman?" Chris asked, eyeing his brother suspiciously.

"What?" Wyatt turned around, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Yeah, you're right, can't be a woman," Chris shook his head, waving the silly notion away. "Well then, what's going on? What's with all these errands and things that you have to do?"

"It's…nothing," Wyatt replied, shooting a quick glance at Amy, but not quick enough for Chris to miss it and raise his eyebrows. Amy, however, exhausted, had actually dozed off, her chin in her hand. "Just one more night, okay Chris?" Wyatt stood up, and moved over to Amy, gently putting his arms around her so he could pick her up. Her face rested on his chest as he carried her into the living room and laid her softly on the couch, so she could sleep more peacefully. Chris stepped out of the kitchen, his arms crossed, but a look of curiosity was on his face.

"Fine, one more night, but you owe me Wyatt. And you better tell me everything tomorrow."

"Whatever you say, Peanut." And with that, Wyatt grinned and orbed out of the room.

* * *

**_*Author's Note: I just wanted to thank you guys for reading and leaving reviews. You have no idea how encouraging and amazing it feels to know that there are people out there (you guys) who actually like my work. I'll keep working hard!  
_**


	9. Ordo Malorum & Special Shopping

**Chapter 9:Ordo Malorum & Special Shopping  
**

The air was tense in the room, which resembled a sort of underground mausoleum, undergoing various stages of decay. The stone pillars were weathering away and what looked suspiciously like separate tombs were carefully stored away in the walls. Torches placed on tall thin stands stood at the four corners of the room, and two more framed the doorway, all of which basked the room in a bright, but eerie glow. A round table stood at the center of the room, and it was around this table that five demons, all wearing black robes and serious expressions, sat without a word.

One of the demons began to speak. "My generals, the time has come for us to restore order to the Underworld. It is time for us to crown a new leader."

"There is only one leader, Agiel, and the Source has long since been vanquished," one of the other demons countered. There was a long scar on the left side of his face, as if someone had slashed him a long time ago.

"The Source can never be vanquished, Malphas, you know this. His corporeal form is destroyed, but his essence lives for eternity. And I've heard his commands. He's chosen his next body," the demon called Agiel announced, to the scrutiny of the others. They stared at him, eyes narrowed, wondering whether or not to believe him.

"And how do we know you speak the truth? No one has heard from the Source since the Charmed Ones vanquished him along with that pathetic possessor demon."

"She managed to resurrect him, even if it was foolhardy, Malphas, let us not forget that," spoke another of the demons.

"Malphas speaks true. The Source has remained silent all these years, and the Underworld has been a state of chaos and anarchy, with every demon trying and failing to gain power. Our ranks are being wiped clean," a fourth demon spoke, spitting out his words in disgust.

"Which is precisely why it is so crucial for us to crown a new leader, before there are no demons left to fill our legions," Agiel spoke, a sense of urgency in his tone. "My generals, as the leader of the Ordo Malorum, I have always guided you under the Source's commands. This has not changed, and to doubt me is to doubt the Source himself." Agiel paused, and stared at the demons, as if daring them to challenge him. The demons frowned uneasily at the thought of doubting the Source, and fell silent, glancing at each other. After a few moments, Agiel continued, satisfied. "Now, to business. We will be refocusing our efforts to one witch in particular."

"You wouldn't be telling us to go against one of the Charmed Ones, would you? They may be retired, but it's still suicide!" Malphas said angrily, a hint of disbelief still in his tone.

"You have the spine of an Imp Master, Malphas," one of the other demons remarked, to the snickers and laughter of the rest.

"Are you calling me a coward, Volac?" Infuriated, Malphas jumped to his feet, a fireball in the palm of his hand. The demon Volac who made the joke faced Malphas with his own fireball.

Agiel waved his hands at the two fireballs and caused them to vanish. "Enough." Agiel said in a steely, impatient tone and the two demons took their seats, eyes fixed on each other, ready to counter if the other made a move.

"If not the Charmed Ones, then which witch? The heir, the Twice-Blessed Child?" One of the other demons asked.

"Now _that_ is a suicide mission," another demon said.

"No, not him either, at least not directly. We're going after the witch with the mimicry power, but we're not going to kill her. The Source wants her alive, so he can possess her and claim her power for his own. In his essence state, he can't absorb her power," Agiel replied.

"And how exactly are we going to capture her and bring her back alive? No demon in our ranks can go up against Wyatt Halliwell, especially when he's been assigned her Whitelighter."

"You're missing the point, Generals. We don't want to capture her or kill her, we want her to come here of her own free will, we want her to provide as little resistance to the Source's possession as possible. We need to coax her, to make her lower her defenses. We need someone to get close to her, someone who can blend in with the humans and cause no suspicion with any of the Halliwells." Agiel explained.

"I remember this plan. The Triad sent Belthazor on this same mission, and look what happened. All vanquished." Malphas crossed his arms and sat back, displeased.

"We are not the Triad, Malphas. We will not make their mistakes." Agiel replied in a foreboding tone. The rest of the demons were quiet as they mulled over the idea.

Finally one of them spoke. "Who will we send that we can trust?"

"What about Zahhak? He wants to join us, we can tell him that this mission is his initiation rite of sorts," Volac suggested, to some approved nods.

"And if he actually succeeds?" Malphas asked.

"Then I say he would have earned the right to become one of us. It'll definitely put a demon like you to shame," Volac replied, again causing anger to shoot into Malphas' eyes.

Before the other demon could counter, Agiel spoke in a final, resolute tone. "It's settled then, Generals. Our plan begins."

* * *

Chris walked down the row of display cases, his eyes wide and speechless at all the jewelry sparkling back at him. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but he hadn't realized that it would be this hard. Everything honestly looked the same to him; they were all, for the most part, silver and had diamonds, but apparently that one over there with the square-looking diamond cost $500 more than that one over there with the eye-shaped diamond even though the eye-shaped diamond had all these little diamonds around it. Chris felt his head starting to spin and he leaned on the display cases, telling himself to calm down.

He had made up his mind a long time ago to propose to Bianca, but he had been putting off ring-shopping because he had known it was going to drive him crazy, that and the fact that he was getting all these knots in his stomach. No, he wasn't second-guessing himself, or doubting his decision. He loved Bianca like he had never loved any other woman before, and he had his share of girlfriends and flings, a huge share. Somehow, he had known, from the moment they first stared incredulously at each other that day he orbed into the Palace, that he had already found the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

Not that he truly believed it that day. All he knew that day was that he was in the presence of a beautiful and sassy woman, and that he couldn't wait to see her again. Thinking back on it now, he realized that the memory was still vivid; he could still remember the way her eyes pierced through him when he spoke and the way she tucked her hair behind her ears so they would stop falling in her face. He closed his eyes and watched the memory replay before him.

It was close to six years ago. He, Wyatt, and Melinda had all gone demon-hunting, but they weren't prepared for the huge assault that the demons had planned for them. It was the first, and so far only, time that they had seen the demons all band together. They barely had time to react and defend themselves, let alone call for help from Mitch and the others. The fight that happened afterwards was just a huge blur, even now he could only recall bits and pieces: trying to orb out and realizing that something was preventing him from being able to, sending demons flying left and right, seeing Wyatt setting demons on fire, and then, that one sound that he hoped he would never hear again. Melinda screaming.

A split second of frozen fear was all it took for the demons to take advantage and the next thing he knew, everything went dark. He opened his eyes later to find himself lying on the couch at home, being healed by Aunt Paige, who, amazingly, was also healing Wyatt at the same time. It wasn't until afterwards that he found out that Melinda had been captured, and that was by far one of the scariest moments of his life. The feelings of guilt, anger, panic, and dread had all churned around inside him and a voice in his head had kept yelling "useless! You can't even protect your own sister? What kind of sorry excuse for a brother and a witch are you!"

He also remembered the looks of shock and anger in his parents' eyes, although they had never once uttered a word of accusation, instead focusing all their efforts to bringing Mel back safely. It had also been incredibly tense between him and Wyatt; in a way, they each blamed themselves, and each other. Why hadn't the other person watched out for her? How could they have let this happen? They were her older brothers, for crying out loud! They were supposed to protect her! The tension between the two of them, coupled with the frustration of not being able to locate Mel had resulted in a full-out fight, powers and all, in the attic of the Manor, complete with shouts of some of the most creative insults they had ever come up with. It was only when both of their parents had come storming in, absolutely furious, that they stopped and Chris had orbed out of the room and into the San Francisco Palace Of Fine Arts.

To this day, he still wasn't sure why he suddenly decided to orb there; it was the first place he had thought of and he was lucky that the place had been empty, except for Bianca, who had jumped a little at his sudden entrance, but otherwise hadn't been startled. He had been in the middle of stuttering out a good reason for why he had all of a sudden appeared in a shower of blue and white lights when she smiled and said, "I think you're just about the cutest Whitelighter I've seen yet." That, and her laugh at seeing his stunned expression, was all it took for him to spend the rest of the day there, with her, somehow spilling out the entire story of Mel's capture and his fight with Wyatt, despite his fondness for secrecy. In return, she offered comforting words, words that actually got through to him and made him realize what an idiot he had been acting.

Had he known that day that she was a Phoenix, things probably would have played out a little differently; he might have held her captive and used her somehow to get to the rest of the demons for example, but instead, he believed her when she said that she was just a witch, new to her powers, and unsure of how to deal with it. It wasn't until they had been on their third date that she finally told him the truth, which had been hard for him to take, but by then, he had already fallen too deep for her to turn back. Six years later, a lot of fights with her mom and the rest of the Phoenix Coven, and her decision to turn her back on everything she had been taught and start over with him, Chris realized that it was time for him to reciprocate. He knew that she was terrified on the inside of walking away, and he wanted to show her that he was going to be with her every step of the way, that he meant it when he said he would love her forever.

Which led to him being in this jewelry store, head spinning at the ridiculous variety of engagement rings to choose from. His dad, Uncle Henry, and Uncle Coop had all said that he would just know when he saw the ring, but they couldn't have given him a little Engagement Ring Shopping 101 beforehand or something?

"Sir, can I help you with anything?"

Chris looked up and found himself face-to-face with one of the store's employees, a man in his mid-thirties, who looked at Chris like he had seen this scene a hundred times before.

"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for an engagement ring."

"I see, well, do you have anything in mind? Anything at all?" The man asked, at the exact moment that the store's door jingled open and Melinda stepped inside.

"Chris! Did you pick it out yet?" Melinda rushed to her brother as he fixed her with a look of complete bewilderment.

"Mel? Wh-What are you-how did you know?" Chris managed to utter.

"Peyton overheard you talking to Uncle Coop and well, you know Peyton. Nothing stays a secret with her. She might have told some of us..." Chris stared at his sister in shock, and Melinda hurriedly added, "Bianca doesn't know a thing, don't worry! And we'll all do whatever you want us to, if you want us to do anything that is, to help out," Melinda replied, giving her brother a smile. "That's why I'm here. I thought you might need a little help picking out the ring, because you know, you're you." Melinda grinned as Chris scoffed instinctively, but gave her a small smile of relief. "Okay then, let's see what we have here."

After an hour later of indecisiveness from Chris and impressive patience from both Melinda and the clerk, the two siblings walked out of the jewelry store, satisfied and excited. The ring, which was safely tucked in the pocket of Chris' leather jacket, had four brilliant round diamonds which complemented the larger center pear-shaped diamond, all set in a sleek 14K white gold band.

"I can't believe I bought the ring," Chris said, shaking his head in awe. "I can't believe that I'm going to ask Bianca to marry me. Me!" Melinda laughed as Chris shook his head again. "I mean, do you remember me in high school?"

"You and Wyatt practically ruled the school, yes I remember, but you, being the smooth-talker that you were, always ended up with the girls in the end," Melinda replied teasingly and linked her arm through her brother's as they walked down the street. "It's nice to see you finally grow up, Peanut."

Chris pulled his arm out of the link with Melinda's and put it around her neck, playfully tightening his grip. "What was that you just called me?"

"Hey! I just helped you pick out the engagement ring!" Melinda exclaimed, laughing and trying to wriggle out of her brother's grip.

Chris paused, and then loosened his grip. "Fair enough." He grinned as he gave Melinda a quick one-armed hug. "Thanks, Mel. Sometimes, I don't know what Wyatt and I would do without you."

Melinda returned the hug, and smiled. "Let's not think about that; it's very dangerous territory." Chris laughed and nodded in agreement. "You know, it would've been nice if you could've used mom's engagement ring from dad, I heard it was Grandma Patty's, right?"

"Yeah, I know. That's what I was thinking at first, but then dad told me that they used the engagement ring as the wedding ring too, so there goes that," Chris said. "I also thought about using Gram's ring, but then I remembered that it's cursed. It would've been nice to give Bianca a family heirloom, it would mean so much more, considering the fact that she is technically leaving her family behind."

"You're her family now, Chris," Melinda said. "And so are the rest of us. We're her new family."

Chris looked down at his sister smiling back up at him and nodded. "Yeah. We are."

* * *

**_*Author's Note: Sigh, I know, I'm taking forever to update now. Thank you guys for hanging in there and still reading and leaving reviews! You guys are awesome. Next chapter coming as soon as possible!_**


	10. Laughter

**Chapter 10: Laughter**

Later that evening, in the bustling nightlife of P3, Chris and Bianca were enjoying each other's company as they danced with the rest of the crowd to the band that was playing. Melinda and Mitch were seated at one of the small tables off to the side, bobbing their heads to the music, and smiling at the sight of Chris spinning Bianca around, the couple laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world.

"Did he ask her yet?" Mitch asked, gesturing with his head to Chris and Bianca.

"No, not yet, but it's going to happen soon. You should see the ring, Mitch! It's gorgeous!" Melinda exclaimed, adding a small squeal. "I hope Uncle Coop tells his Cupid friends to pair me up with someone soon…I want my happily ever after too."

"I think they're having trouble finding a guy that Chris and Wyatt can't scare off," Mitch laughed.

Melinda grimaced and muttered something that sounded like "Older brothers, they never know when to keep their nosy heads out of things."

Mitch laughed again and leaned back in his chair, looking around the lively club. His eyes fell on Pandora, who, curiously, had been sitting at the bar the entire night. She was half-facing the band, her legs tapping the air in tune with the music. The bartender approached her and whatever he said to her must have been amusing because she tossed her head back in laughter. Mitch watched as the bartender placed a hand over hers, causing Pandora to smile back at him, a little too friendly for Mitch's taste.

"Hey, who's the bartender?" Mitch asked frowning as Melinda turned her gaze to the bar.

"Oh, that's Rick. Ooh, it looks like he and Pandora are getting along quite nicely," Melinda replied, and then added, fixing Mitch with a knowing glance. "Don't even think of getting in-between them. We little sisters prefer our older brothers to stay _out_ of our love lives, thank you very much."

"How long have they known each other? Why didn't anyone tell me anything? Does Rosie know?" Mitch fired off question after question as Melinda sighed exasperatedly.

"It's been about a month and-"

"A month? And they're already so touchy with each other? Isn't that moving a little bit too fast?" Mitch exclaimed, cutting Melinda off.

"All he did was touch her hand…"

"Exactly! First he's touching her hand, and then he gets cocky. You don't know how guys think, Mel. This punk is bold." Mitch crossed his arms and contented himself with glaring straight at Pandora and Rick, a scowl on his face as Melinda sighed again and shook her head, speechless.

At that moment, Chris and Bianca eased their way through the crowd towards Mitch and Melinda, the exhilaration of their dance still on their faces.

"Tired already?" Melinda asked as Bianca pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

"Very, and thirsty," Bianca replied, fanning herself with her hand. Melinda offered her drink, which Bianca accepted and took a sip. "Mmm…tasty, what is this?"

Before Melinda could reply, Mitch elbowed Chris and gestured to the bar. "Did you know about that?"

Chris and Bianca glanced back and Bianca answered, smiling, "Aren't they cute? I think he's good for her."

Mitch raised an eyebrow at Bianca and was about to retort back when Chris playfully hit his shoulder. "Relax man, she can take care of herself. Let her live a little."

Melinda choked on her drink and stared at her brother, exclaiming indignantly, "What?! How come you and Wyatt don't apply that piece of wisdom to my love life?"

Chris coolly ignored her and asked, "Do any of you guys know what Wyatt's been up to lately? He's being all secretive again."

"Like brother, like brother," Melinda grumbled. She scowled and fixed Chris with annoyed glares, all of which he very coolly ignored again.

"Probably out hunting," Mitch replied, trying to appear nonchalant about the whole bar situation, but was still sneaking glances whenever he could.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Amy, but I'm not getting anything out of him. He said tonight was the last night."

"Last night for what?" Bianca asked.

"Whatever it is he's doing. I just hope he's not being an idiot and summoning half the Underworld to him or something." Chris replied, rubbing his temples. "He gives me such a headache."

Bianca got back on her feet and put her hand in Chris', leading him back into the crowd. "Come on, let's dance. Wyatt's a big boy, he knows what he's doing, so don't worry about him so much and let's just enjoy the night, okay?" Chris remained resolute, but after a few more tugs and wide-eyed expressions from Bianca, he relented and followed her, already smiling as the two got lost in the crowd again.

Mitch took their absence as an opportunity to continue his unhappy scrutiny of the bar as Melinda shook her head again, confounded with the very idea of older brothers. Suddenly, Pandora excused herself from the bar and left towards the direction of the ladies' room and Mitch took this chance to get up from the table.

"Oh no, you don't," Melinda exclaimed and pulled Mitch back into the chair. "Just because I can't seem to knock some sense into my brothers' heads does not mean I can't do that to you. Pandora is a perfectly capable woman. Trust me when I say that you would be a much cooler and more impressive big brother if you let her make her own decisions and then beat the crap out of Rick later if he mistreats her."

Mitch sat there, mulling over Melinda's words. Before he was able to make up his mind, however, Melinda spoke again, gesturing to the bar with her drink. "Oh look, Pandora's back. Looks like you missed your chance."

Mitch glanced back, saw Pandora sitting there happily sipping her drink, and turned around to fix Melinda with a glare. "Oh you're good." Melinda returned his glare with a mischievous smile and watched as Mitch left the table, disappearing into the crowd with his drink. She turned back to the bar and saw Pandora looking at her curiously. She smiled and raised her glass in a toast, as Pandora laughed and reciprocated the gesture. Pandora winked, and still grinning, turned her attention back to Rick.

* * *

_***Author's Note: I am floored at the positive reviews you guys are giving. It really means a lot that you guys enjoy my fanfic! I'm working really hard to keep the updates going. Thank you, guys.  
**_


	11. And Tears

**Chapter 11: And Tears**

Meanwhile, back at the Halliwell Manor, Wyatt was occupied in the attic. He was carrying an assortment of candles in his arm, six in total, some white and some purple, and was placing them on the floor on top of a white cloth. The air was already sweetened with the blended scents of cinnamon, frankincense, and sandalwood, burning in a small pot on a table. As he bent to light the candles, a voice called out from somewhere downstairs.

"I'm in the attic!" Wyatt called back.

Moments later, footsteps were heard on the stairs and Amy appeared at the doorway. Her hair was tousled and she covered her mouth as she let out a big yawn.

"Good morning, or rather, good night. You slept practically the whole day. What were you doing last night that made you so tired?" Wyatt asked, looking up from the candles, and taking in her wrinkled blouse and jeans. "It can't have been comfortable sleeping in those."

"When you're exhausted from staying up all night stressed over a magical quiz given by your slightly obsessed, slightly crazed instructor, you tend to not care what you're wearing," Amy replied coolly.

"Point taken," Wyatt said and lit up the last of the candles. "It's actually good that you're awake now."

"What are you doing anyway?" Amy asked, eyeing the candles and the incense sticks still burning.

"I'm performing a séance, a ceremony to contact the dead," Wyatt added in response to Amy's confused expression. "I think it's time we talked with your parents."

Amy blinked a couple of times, processing Wyatt's words before she managed to utter, "What?"

"I wasn't lying when I said that your magic lies in your blood," Wyatt began slowly and carefully. "Your powers are inherited at birth, but for some reason you didn't come into them until recently. The only explanation has to be because for some reason your powers were bound. I think your parents may be able to tell us why." Wyatt paused, and then said, "This would also be a good opportunity to finally find out if your parents had powers of their own."

Amy shook her head slowly, taking a couple steps back. "No, absolutely not. If my parents were magical, if they knew anything about magic, I would've known. They wouldn't hide something like that from me. They would've told me."

"Not if they didn't want you to know," Wyatt replied, his tone gentle. He knew that the subject of her parents was painful, but she needed to know the truth about her family, and so did he. "There are many occasions when parents bind the powers of their kids until they're older. Look at my mom, and my aunts. They had their powers bound for years."

Amy continued to shake her head. "No. My parents would not do that to me. They would not bind my powers. They would not lock away a part of me, and they most certainly would not lie to me my entire life."

"Amy-"

"NO, Wyatt," Amy said, her voice harsh. "Just stop it!" She turned away and started to leave the room when Wyatt asked one last question.

"You don't even want to talk to them again?"

Amy froze in the doorway. Her heart beat fiercely. She thought back to her last moments with her parents.

It was late. The three of them were enjoying a walk after their supper. Her parents had always loved their late-night strolls through the city; at first she couldn't understand why. "This is how you really learn to appreciate life, Amber. Not the noisy bustle of the day with everyone thinking about the deadlines they have to meet, but now. The quiet whisperings of the wind, the teasing twinkles of the stars, the sweet scent of the air; this is the life that no one seems to appreciate anymore." That's what her father had always told her every time she asked why she had to go with them, and it wasn't until she had gotten older and lost the innocence of her childhood that she realized what her father meant.

That night, her father, her mother, and her were all walking side-by-side, arms linked. Her mother's sleek black hair, identical to hers, was loose and cascading down her back as usual. Her father was in the midst of reciting one of his poems, which were often inspired by their late-night walks. She remembered sitting in her father's lap when she was a little girl and listening to him recite his many poems for hours. She loved how he made the words roll off his tongue and dance around, creating the most beautiful pictures in her mind. Her mother had often told her, "I was pretty feisty when I was young, you know, but when your father serenaded me with the love poem he had written for me, well, he had me at '_her eyes, like dewdrops in the spring'_."

They had passed a small convenience store, and her sweet tooth suddenly had the craving for ice-cream. Despite her parents' reluctance, she had insisted that it would just take a second, and stepped into the store while they waited outside. The next thing she remembered was a masked man barging into the store waving a gun in one hand and an empty sack in the other and demanding the cashier to fill it up. The man then rushed out with his full sack and there were a couple of gunshots somewhere in the midst of all that. It wasn't until she stepped out, shaking, that she saw her parents lying on the sidewalk in a puddle of their own blood. She faintly remembered hearing the ambulance's sirens in the distance, faintly remembered shaking her parents, telling them to get up, faintly remembered the woman who had called 911 ease her back up to her feet whispering, "come away hun" in a soft voice. As a matter of fact, she faintly remembered much after that.

The only thing she did remember was the ice cream bar gripped tightly in her hand, the ice cream bar that she had wanted so badly, the ice cream bar that had caused her parents' death. No, she had caused her parents' death. If she hadn't insisted…if she had just kept walking…

"Amy?" Wyatt's voice reeled her back to reality. Her knuckles were white from gripping the doorway and she was shaking. She felt wetness on her cheeks and realized that she had been crying. Of course she wanted to talk to her parents again. How many nights did she spend, wide awake as her parents' faces swam around her? All she wanted was a chance to say she was sorry, that she didn't care about a stupid ice-cream bar more than she did them, but what right did she have to look at them face to face?

"Amy?" Wyatt repeated, stepping closer. He could tell that something was wrong. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe he had pushed things too far. After all, he didn't know exactly what she had to go through these past few months. "We don't have to-"

"No." Amy wiped her tears with the back of her hand and took a few deep breaths. She was tired of the guilt, tired of saying 'what if'. Three months of mental and emotional torture were three months too much. She needed to stop running away. "No." She steadied herself and turned around to face Wyatt. "Let's do it."

Wyatt raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Okay."

Amy walked over and stood next to Wyatt as he checked the Book to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. "Is this your first time doing a séance?"

"Yep, the ghosts usually come finding us," Wyatt replied. "What were your parents' names? The spell is strengthened if we know the spirits' names," Wyatt added.

Amy nodded and said, barely a whisper, "Alina and Gavin. Their names were Alina and Gavin."

Wyatt began the chant:

_Beloved Spirits Alina and Gavin,_

_We Seek Your Guidance,_

_We ask that You Commune with Us,_

_And Move among Us._

He had barely finished the spell when orbs of white light appeared in front of them, floating around before joining together. Amy gasped and brought her hands to her face as she stared at the two figures floating in front of them, her eyes sparkling with fresh tears.

"Mom, Dad." Her voice was barely a whisper and cracked as a wave of new tears threatened to roll over her.

"Oh, sweetheart," her mother said soothingly, her own eyes glistening. "We're so sorry. We never meant for you to find out this way."

"What?" Amy's voice raised a few octaves as she struggled to keep it steady. "What are you talking about?"

"Your father and I…we're witches, but we never wanted to be. Always being tied down by obligations to our magic, and never having a decent childhood, we didn't want you to have to go through that. We wanted you to have the freedom to choose your own path once you've tasted what it was like to be non-magical."

Amy struggled to understand. "You…you were…"

"We were planning on telling you when you were older, but you were so happy not knowing anything," her father continued, eyes scrunched in regret. "We should have, we really should have…"

"We're so, so, sorry, Amber," her mother said, glistening tears running down her translucent face. "Sweetheart, had we known what you would have to go through-" Her mother's voice cracked and she paused to take a deep breath.

Amy's head was spinning as she tried to make sense of the situation. "You…you knew? I…so…my powers…did you…what did you…?"

"We bound your magic when you were three. We wanted to wait until you showed proof that you actually had powers, and for the first few years, we were hoping that somehow, by some miracle, you didn't inherit any magic from either of us, since you never showed any signs. Then, one day, you recited a few lines from one of my poems and created your very first spell!" Her father laughed, and looked at Amy with warm eyes. "Remember the roses that just popped out of thin air?"

"I don't…I…" Amy sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes as the memories and the truth started to swim around her. Wyatt, sensing this, placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. When her breathing became steady again, she opened her eyes and faced her parents. "Do you…I mean did you…have powers?"

"We used to," her mother answered. "But your father and I stripped our powers not long after we got married. We'd already been living as if we didn't have them for years, so it wasn't too big of an adjustment. We wanted to start fresh."

"There's only been one time that we regretted that decision," her father continued. "That night…" Amy started to tremble as the tears threatened again. "If your mother and I had our powers, we would have easily defended ourselves against that robber, and you wouldn't have had to go through so much pain."

Amy shook as the tears began to fall and sobbed, "I… so sorry…if I…the ice cream…"

"No, sweetheart, no," her mother's voice was steady and soothing despite the glistening tears that were falling down her face. "Amber, sweetheart, listen to me. It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done."

"But if I didn't make you stop, if we had kept going…"

"There's something your mother and I both learned from being magical, and that is that some things are out of our control, but everything happens for a reason. There's nothing any of us could have done. We don't blame you, sweetheart, not even a little bit."

Amy gasped a sigh of relief as she struggled to maintain what little control she had left over her emotions. "I…I didn't get to s…say…"

"We know, sweetheart," her mother said. "We love you too, so much. So much."

Amy let out a cry and gave in to her emotions. She sank down to her knees and sobbed, sobbed for all the nights she spent crying herself to sleep, for all the guilt that she had locked inside her heart that had finally burst free, and most of all, sobbed for all the love that she felt for her parents, her parents that would never be able to hold her again. Alina, seeing her daughter break down, burst into tears of her own and knelt down with her, trying to place her arms around her. Realizing that she couldn't touch her, Alina cried instead, cried for all the pain that she was sorry she made her daughter feel, and for all the love that she had yet to give her. Even Gavin, still standing over his wife and daughter, couldn't stop his own tears from falling as he watched, helpless.

Seeing this unfold before him, Wyatt was seized by the desire to do something. Without thinking, he muttered a spell made on the spot and waved his hands over Amy's parents, willing them to become solid. His eyes widened as the ghostly figures of Alina and Gavin began to glow, and then slowly, starting from their toes, the spell worked its way up their bodies. Alina and Gavin stared incredulously at their now solidified bodies and then stared up at Wyatt, who only blinked a few times, as shocked as they were that the spell actually worked. With a grateful smile, Alina silently thanked Wyatt and then gently, cautiously, touched her daughter's shoulder. Amy looked up and realizing that she could now touch her parents, threw her arms around them and sobbed into their chests, as they hugged her fiercely back.

Wyatt turned away to give them privacy and he too, wiped a tear from his eyes.

* * *

_***Author's Note: All I can say is thank you guys so much for continuing to leave reviews. I hope this chapter somehow made up for the long hiatuses. Onwards!**_


	12. Bits And Pieces

**Chapter 12: Bits And Pieces**

"You did _what_?" Chris exclaimed in a tone of absolute shock and stared, wide-eyed, at his older brother. Chris and Melinda had returned home late after calling it a night at P3. Leaving the reins to Rick, who usually took over when neither brother was available, Chris had orbed Bianca back to her apartment, and then had orbed himself and Melinda back to the manor. They had entered the house to find Wyatt and Amy seated on the living room couch, Amy's eyes still red and wet from her tears. Wyatt had just finished filling his siblings in on the night's events.

"Will you shut up? You're going to wake Mom and Dad!" Wyatt hissed back.

"You can't just make ghosts solid with a wave of your hand! It's not possible!" Chris exclaimed again in a furious hushed voice.

"For the record, there was also a spell involved," Wyatt replied, a bit pointedly.

"I can't believe this! _As if_ you didn't already have enough powers, now you're going to go around bringing every ghost back to life! This is unbelievable!"

"I can't bring a ghost back to life," Wyatt said, slightly exasperated, but was interrupted by Chris letting out a string of angry swear words under his breath. "Feel better?"

"No," Chris replied irritably and orbed away without another word.

* * *

"Are you ready to begin your task?" Agiel spoke to a muscular demon with elaborate markings and tattoos all over his arms. His broad shoulders and thick legs only added to his intimidating presence.

"I won't disappoint you. You have my word."

"We'll see about that. I want daily reports, and rest assured that if you fail us, we will make sure your mess is cleaned up. You _are_ expendable to us, Zahhak. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, General."

"Now go." With a lazy wave of his hand, Agiel dismissed the demon called Zahhak, just as another demon appeared as if he were walking straight out of the shadows.

"This is a suicide mission. You're just wasting your time."

"You would do well to hold your tongue, Malphas. The right side of your face seems a little bare." Agiel suddenly sliced the air with a whip of crackling energy that snapped inches in front of Malphas' face. Malphas instinctively flinched. "I would be glad to even it out for you."

* * *

With a cup of coffee in one hand and a bagel in the other, Amy zigzagged around the crowd of dawdling students and hurried to make it to her biology class on time. She was suffering from yet another late night and had barely made it out of her apartment on time to catch the bus.

The past weekend was one of the longest she had ever gone through. Thanks to Wyatt, she was finally able to get the closure that she needed from her parents, and for the first time in months, she slept peacefully. However, this also meant that for the first time since her parents' deaths, she was able to mourn them properly. She had spent much of the weekend kneeling at the tombstones of her parents, bringing her mother her favorite pink bell-shaped flowers and reciting her father's poetry from heart. When she wasn't at the cemetery, she was at her apartment, taking out the boxes of photo albums and memorabilia that she had packed away and refused to look at. Now, however, she touched every page of the photo albums gingerly, reliving the wonderful memories, soft tears running down her cheeks.

She had also taken to decorating her apartment. The plain blinds on her windows were replaced by silky lavender curtains. The bare wooden coffee table now had a small tablecloth over it and a small vase of bright yellow daisies. She had also gotten her favorite poem by her father, the one that he had written for her mother, magnified on beautiful parchment paper which she then had framed and hung on the wall above the couch.

Wyatt, who had generously cancelled all Witchcraft 101 lessons for the time being, had also occasionally checked up on her to make sure she was okay. He had helped her with some of the decorating, most notably nailing her father's framed poem into the wall, but for the most part, had understood that she needed to be alone.

Now, it was Monday, the start of a new week, and the way Amy saw it, the start of her new life. She was finally ready to move on from her past and start fresh with the present, as not only a full-time student, but also a full-time witch.

Amy stepped into the lecture hall and took a seat near the back of the room between two empty desks, just as the professor cleared his throat and began the lesson. She was so focused on taking notes on the lecture slides that it had been a while before she realized that someone was tapping her shoulder. She turned and found herself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes. She blinked. The eyes, she realized, belonged to a face, and the face to a guy. She hadn't noticed that someone had sat down next to her.

"Hey," the brown-eyed guy whispered. "I know this is going to sound completely made up, but I forgot my glasses at home and I can't see a thing on the lecture slides. Do you mind if I copy your notes?"

Amy stared, slightly taken aback. "Uh…sure."

"Thanks. I'm Zeke, by the way." The brown-eyed guy flashed a quick smile.

"I'm Amy."

"Well, Amy, aren't I glad I chose to sit next to you today?" Zeke winked and then put a finger to his lips as he gestured to the professor.

* * *

The small herb store was packed to the ceiling with assorted potion ingredients, among other things, all neatly stored away. Rows of different types of plant roots were nestled in the display cases. Jars of squid and pigs' feet stood on round tables covered with red velvety tablecloth. Crow feathers hung in long strands on the wall behind the counter.

Having been assigned the task to replenish their dwindling supply of potion ingredients, Prue, Pandora, and Rosie walked through the store, checking items off their list as they went.

"Mandrake Root, check. Myrrh, check." Prue crossed off the items on the list. "We need more powdered toadstool."

"Oh, and don't forget the cinnamon sticks. Wyatt used up all of Aunt Piper's supply when he did the séance and she wasn't happy about it."

Pandora laughed. "Apparently, neither was Chris. Mel said he was somewhere between fuming and sulky at Wyatt's new magic trick. He vanquished a couple of demons to blow off some steam."

"Hey, at least he's finding a practical way to deal with his inferiority complex, unlike some other brother we know. Has Mitch absorbed any demonic powers lately?" Prue teased, ducking and catching the bag of herbs that Pandora just threw at her. "Hey, powdered toadstool, excellent."

"Speaking of Mitch, he's also not taking the whole Pandora and Rick going out situation very well. Mel just barely stopped him from interfering at P3 the other night," Rosie said.

"Yeah well, Mitchie's got a real stick up his ass, what else is new?" Pandora shrugged.

"How is Rick?" Prue asked, grinning.

"He's _fine_, thank you, I really like him, and that's all I'm going to say on this subject," Pandora paused at a jar containing glassy eyes of newt. "But since we're on this topic, how's your Library Cutie, Rosie?"

"Library Cutie?" Prue raised an eyebrow.

Rosie stared persistently at a bag of mustard seeds. "He's this really cute guy on campus, who works shifts at the college library."

"In other words, he's a nerd. Ow! Hey!" Pandora picked up the bag of mustard seeds that Rosie had just thrown at her. "If you don't stop throwing stuff, we're going to be kicked out!" They paused and simultaneously sneaked a glance at the man standing behind the counter, who was eyeing them with glares. They gave him sweet smiles, and Pandora gently placed the bag of mustard seeds back on the table.

"I think he sounds adorable," Prue said.

"Thank you, but he's strictly limited to just being eye candy. He has a girlfriend."

"So? People in relationships don't necessarily stay in relationships. He could be single tomorrow, for all you know," Pandora winked. "Oh, which reminds me, Mitchie sort of bumped into Madison this morning. It was ridiculous." Rosie and Prue looked up curiously. "She saw him and ran the other way like he had the plague."

Prue snorted. "Idiot."

"No kidding. Who goes out with someone for two years and has no idea that he's magical? Not even a suspicion! And to add on to it, now she's got some sort of ridiculous notion that he's going to turn her into a toad if she goes within five feet of him."

"You can't really blame her. Some people just don't want to understand," Rosie said. "Poor Mitch."

"He'll be okay. Uncle Henry is living proof that some people do want to understand, but this may be the reason why Mitch is so wary of Rick. He doesn't want you to go through what he went through, if you and Rick reach that bridge. He's just trying to protect you," Prue said as her eyes scanned the tables. "Do you guys see any cinnamon sticks?"

"Here," Pandora threw a bag of cinnamon sticks towards Prue who caught it just in time. "Anything else we need?"

Prue gave Pandora a quick glance, and then returned to her list. "Nope, I think we're good." They made their way to the counter and paid for the herbs.

* * *

Amy stepped into the cozy coffee shop with a jingle, having just come directly from her classes. She exchanged casual greetings with the rest of the part-time workers and headed into the back to change into her uniform. She stuffed her bag into the locker, pulled her hair into a quick ponytail and headed outside. As soon as she stepped out, the barista behind the counter rang up an order.

"Table seven!"

"I got it," Amy said and carried the tray to one of the tables by the windows."That's one iced latte and one espresso with steamed milk. Let me know if there's anything else you need." With a friendly smile, Amy left to tend to other customers.

She was in the middle of delivering another order when the door jingled open and a man walked in.

"Hi, welcome to Delia's," Amy turned and found herself face-to-face with a tall, ruggedly handsome stranger. He had the makings of a five o'clock shadow and a pair of piercing green-gray eyes. He smiled back and sat down in an empty booth. Amy shyly made her way to him and handed over a menu.

"Thank you…Amber, is it?" The man gestured to her nametag and smiled.

"Uh, yeah, but I usually go by Amy. Amy's fine."

"Well then, I'll just call for you when I'm ready to order, Amy," The handsome man smiled again and his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, ok," Amy hurried away, passing one of the other waitresses who whispered, "smooth" and clapped her hands over her mouth to cover a fit of giggles.

After mulling over his menu for some time (Amy noticed that his dark blue shirt stretched nicely over his toned arms, one of which had a colorful elaborate tattoo), he finally requested a simple cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Amy," he said as she placed a steaming cup in front of him. "I have to say, I'm very impressed by the service here. I think I'm going to be coming back often." He gave her another twinkling smile and Amy forced herself to breathe.

"Well, uh, if you do, don't hesitate to say 'hi'," Amy said, giving him a quick smile and starting to turn away, then stopped and turned back. "Since you know my name, it's only fair that I should know yours, right?"

The man laughed and put a hand through his dark brown hair. "The name's Alex. Alex Garrett."

* * *

Sunlight streamed into the central rotunda of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. Bushes of pink and white flowers sprinkled the area and rich green foliage further added to the vibrant life. White geese playfully swam in the water surrounding the rotunda. In a glittering shower of blue and white lights, Chris and Bianca suddenly orbed into the Palace.

"Chris, what are we doing here?" Dressed in a form-fitting red blouse and a light denim skirt, Bianca looked around, slightly in awe. "Wow, this place looks amazing." She walked to the edge of the rotunda and looked over the water. A breeze brushed her cheek and ruffled her hair. "It feels amazing too!"

Chris walked over to her, picking one of the pink roses along the way. He had dressed up for the occasion, wearing a sleek black long-sleeved button down shirt and fitting jeans.

"What is this for?" Bianca asked, happily accepting the rose, but eyeing Chris suspiciously.

Chris shrugged and smiled. "Just because I love you."

"So cheesy," Bianca scoffed, but smiled nonetheless and bent her head to smell the rose. The breeze picked up again and blew through her hair, fanning it away from her face. Chris stared, drinking in the sight. "Okay, what is going on? You're going to stare a hole right through my face." Bianca teased and playfully pushed Chris away.

He laughed and took her hand, guiding her to one of the benches. "Sit. I have something to say." He took a breath, and began slowly. "I know that it's been hard for you lately with all the fighting between you and your mom." Bianca looked down. "I can see how much it's hurting you, no matter how strong you are. I know how much you're leaving behind for me, and I love you so much for that, Bianca." Chris gently raised her head to face him. "I mean every word when I tell you that you're not alone, that I'm going to be with you every step of the way. And I'm finally ready to prove it to you." Chris bent down on one knee and took out a ring box from his pocket. Bianca's eyes widened, and she took a deep breath. "Bianca, will you marry me?"

She continued to stare. "Here?"

"This has always been our spot, Bianca, and it always will be. Marry me."

"Oh my God, you're serious."

Chris laughed. "Yes, I am. And my leg's starting to ache so…"

Bianca laughed and threw her arms around Chris' neck. "Yes! Yes! Always, yes!" Chris gingerly placed the ring on Bianca's finger and then leaned in for a kiss. When they separated, Bianca looked up into his bright green eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek. "You're still just about the cutest Whitelighter I've seen yet."

Chris smiled and winked. "I know."

Bianca leaned in for another kiss. "I love you, Christopher Perry Halliwell. And I always will."

* * *

**_*Author's Note: Finally! The long awaited and expected proposal! Spoiler alert about the next part: it'll be about Chris' and Bianca's wedding. Thank you all so much at your reviews, you guys are just awesome. I hope to update soon!  
_**


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